


Empty Rooms

by xAnimaniac



Series: Lost & Found Series [2]
Category: Big Time Rush
Genre: M/M, Pimp...ery, Prostitution, Sex, Stripping, Way too many archive warnings but they're not too bad I promise, attempted suicide, perverts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-06
Updated: 2013-12-06
Packaged: 2018-01-03 20:39:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 32,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1072815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xAnimaniac/pseuds/xAnimaniac
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kendall Knight may have been pushed around, trampled on or just ignored completely, but there was bound to be hope for him somewhere. He just had to find it. Prequel to Lost & Found.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Go On and Try to Tear Me Down

**Author's Note:**

> James and Carlos aren't in this at all really, just a bit of Logan. When I finished Lost & Found I wanted to write a thing about Kendall growing up so, here it is :P

**14 YEARS AGO**

Will Knight was sitting at the table, reading through some medical report he had to fill in. He yawned, checking the clock on the wall of his little office room. Six-thirty. He sighed, taking a sip of the drink resting on his desk. It was a warm day in Henderson, and even with both the window and the door leading to the rest of the house hanging open, he felt sweat beading at the back of his neck. He wiped at the blonde hair off his forehead with the back of his hand and went back to his work.

In some distant part of the house, he heard the front door open and shut. "We're home!" a female voice called. Then Will's wife Jennifer, appeared in the doorway, her jacket still on and her handbag still on her shoulder. "I'll see you later, honey." Then she was gone again. Will sighed; couldn't she stay at home for at least an hour? She left work, went to pick up their kids from their grandma's house, dropped them home and was gone again.

Will looked up when he heard a soft knock on his open door, and smiled fondly. His son Kendall was standing there, innocently blinking his large green eyes at him, his blonde hair hanging over them. "Hey, kid," Will said, closing the file. "Where's Katie?"

"Asleep," the five-year-old replied. When his dad beckoned him over, his face lit up in a big smile, complete with dimples and little white teeth, and he walked over to where Will was sitting. Will bent down and picked him up easily, setting him on his knee. The boy was small for his age, and very light too.

"How was school?" Will asked him, ruffling his hair. His expression darkened when Kendall's smile fell as he bit his lip unhappily. Will smiled sympathetically. "Come on, buddy. What's wrong?"

Kendall looked up at him sadly. "I don't wanna go back there," he said softly. "I don't like it. Please don't make me go back."

Will was startled by this; he'd always thought his son enjoyed school. "Why not?"

Kendall looked even more unhappy. "The other kids were mean today. I didn't like it. I told Mommy but she wouldn't listen."

"Aw. Don't worry, kid. It'll get better. The thing to remember is that they can't beat you by being mean, because you're gonna be much happier than they are." He paused, then froze and looked toward the door when he heard a baby crying. He got up, setting Kendall back on the floor. "Come on, we'll go feed Katie. Are you hungry too?"

Kendall nodded eagerly, then skipped off towards the kitchen. Will followed him with a smile on his face. He'd finish his work later; there were more important things to do right now.

**PRESENT**

Kendall Knight stuffed the last shirt into his duffel bag, zipping it shut. He hung his frayed messenger bag on his shoulder; he never went anywhere without it. And he was definitely going somewhere now. He bit his lip as a few tears slid down his cheeks. He just couldn't take it anymore; all the sympathetic looks, the whispers, the mocking. But he couldn't help thinking of his mom, and Katie. He would miss them, but it was better off this way. He only upset them. But he was nineteen now, and an adult. He could leave.

He pulled his jacket on and left his bedroom. The hallway outside was dark, and he tiptoed down the stairs. He unlocked the front door and opened it slowly. The air outside was cool, the sky a dark blue shade; the sun would be rising soon enough. He shut the door after him quietly, then walked down the garden path and out onto the sidewalk. The housing estate was silent as Kendall hurried along, his shaky breath forcing him to stop and stay still once or twice. He was really leaving. This place had been his home for so long, and he was never gonna come back.

He arrived at his destination; the large gas station only half a mile from his estate. It was 1am, and the delivery trucks were driving around around this time. He spotted one buying a soda, and walked over to him. "Hey."

The man looked slightly puzzled, but replied, "Hi."

"Um . . . You've got a truck outside, right? Where are you headed?"

"I'm going to San Bernardino," the trucker replied slowly.

"Do you . . . do you know if there are any buses there that I could take to get to LA?"

"Yeah, there are a few." He paused, eyebrows raised. "Why, you looking to hitch a ride there?"

Kendall nodded earnestly. "I need to get there and I don't have a car. I'll pay you if—"

"Kid, relax." The driver gave him a friendly smile. "I'll get you to the station, free of charge. I'd take you further, but I've gotta go a route in another direction."

Kendall smiled gratefully. "Thanks. I really appreciate it."

The trucker went and bought his snacks, then Kendall followed him back out into the chilly air. They both climbed into the front seats. The driver started the engine and said, "I"m Ryan, by the way. You?"

"Kendall," Kendall replied slowly. He figured it didn't make a difference either way.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are you going to LA for?" He frowned at the road in front of him. "You're just a kid."

"I'm not! I'm over eighteen."

"Oh yeah? How much?"

"Um, I turned nineteen a month ago."

"You're still a child, admit it." Ryan gave him a suspicious look. "You're a runaway, aren't you?"

Kendall just sighed and nodded.

"Why you leaving home?"

"I want to start a new life," Kendall replied dully. "To forget everything." He ended the sentence making it clear that he wouldn't talk about it anymore.

Ryan seemed to accept this, and the rest of the trip was silent. It was 2am when they arrived. Ryan stopped the truck outside a bus shelter with a wide open door. There were a few other people waiting there. "Here you go, kid. Bus schedule's on the wall over there. Good luck."

"Thank you," Kendall said with a grin, then hopped out of the truck, bags still in his hands. The others eating for the bus looked harmless enough even though they were clearly much older, and soon enough he found himself begin to relax. He examined the schedules and saw he'd half to change buses once he got inside the city to get to any closer to where his uncle lived. Even then, he'd have to walk a few blocks. He could deal with that.

When the bus came, everyone else went to sit at the back and Kendall was offered a seat behind the driver. The driver was nice; a fat man with an endless supply of ham sandwiches wrapped in greasy paper n a bag under his seat. He offered Kendall one; he accepted it politely but didn't eat it, looking out the window at the streetlights. The drive only took about thirty minutes, and when they got to the terminal where Kendall had to change buses, he was the only one getting off. The driver stopped him before he left. "You'll want to get the Seven C—it'll be along in about half an hour or so. You'll have to wait outside the terminal; they close it at nit because of the homeless people."

Kendall thanked him for the advice and got off the bus, crossing the street to sit on the bench outside the terminal. He took a deep breath. Everything was going fine. And I'm not afraid of homeless people, he thought firmly. But when a man in a plaid jacket over his head came toward him pushing a shopping cart, he felt his heart begin to pound. He was coming closer and closer. Kendall couldn't see what was in the cart; it was covered with newspapers. He couldn't see his face either, he only thought it was a man because of the husky build.

He kept coming, slowly. Why was he walking so slowly? So he could check him out? Kendall's heart was going faster and faster. He'd been so stupid to wander around in a strange city by himself. The figure in the plaid jacket was almost on him now. And there was nowhere to run. Te only thing he could think to do was to sit up straight and pretend he didn't see him.

The man was right in front of him now. For an instant a streetlights shone under the hood of his jacket, and Kendall saw his face. It was an old man, with grizzled hair and a gentle face. His lips moved slightly as he walked—or shuffled. That was why he walked slowly, because he was old. Or maybe because he was weak, and hungry. Kendall was sure he'd be hungry pushing a cart around at three in the morning.

Kendall was struck with inspiration, and reached into his duffel bag, pulling the ham sandwich out. "Want a sandwich?" he offered, copying what the bus driver had said to him. "It's Virginia ham."

The old man took it, and gave him a wide, sweet smile before shuffling away. Kendall was smiling to himself for a good ten minutes afterwards. But he was cold and tired by the time the bus came. It wasn't like the other bus; there was graffiti on the outside, the seats were split, there was gum on the floor and the place stank. But he was too sleepy to care. He didn't pay any attention to the man in the torn overcoat until he got off the bus with him.

That was when he realised he was following him.  
  



	2. When a Heart Breaks, It Don't Breakeven

**  
10 YEARS AGO**

"Keep your left hand still," Will instructed, standing by the piano. "Now, play the next two chords with your right hand."

Kendall did as he said, and the clear notes rang out in the living room, echoing slightly off the walls. "Come on," Jennifer said impatiently from the hallway. "We have to get to school."

"In a second!" Will called to her, before turning back to the nine-year-old boy sitting on the black leather stool. "Ok, now play the last line again."

Kendall did, biting his lip in concentration. When he was finished, his dad grinned and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "You're on your way, blondie. Practice that later when you get home, ok? And remember you're taking the bus today!"

Kendall nodded and hopped off the stool, picking up his backpack and running to the front door. He didn't mind school so much. Sometimes the classes were hard, but it was fine most of the time. And Kendall liked his teacher; Mr Roberts was nice and always helped him when he didn't understand something.

Today he just sitting in class, bored, when a shadow fell over his desk. Kendall looked up to see the teacher standing there. "Kendall, I need you to stay for a few minutes after school, if you don't mind," Mr Roberts said kindly, closing his book. "Just a second or two, just to talk."

"What about, Mr Roberts?" Kendall asked innocently.

There was a brief pause before the teacher quickly replied with, "Just about your progress with the math. You know you were struggling with it a month or two ago."

"Oh. Yeah, ok." Kendall went back to scribbling little pictures of trees and mountains on his notebook, thinking happy thoughts to himself.

After school, Kendall sat at his desk while the other kids dashed out of the classroom, laughing and chatting happily. Kendall drummed his fingers lightly on the wooden surface as he watched Mr Roberts walk over and shut the door after the last child. He heard the little click of a lock and gave a puzzled frown. "Why did you lock the door?"

"I don't want anyone interrupting," the man said quickly, pushing his round, glinting glass back up to the bridge of his nose. "This is a serious discussion."

"Oh." Kendall squirmed uncomfortably under Mr Roberts' hard and eager stare. "Um . . . ok."

Mr Roberts went over and half sat on his desk, looking down at him with dark eyes. "Tell you what, Kendall. If you're good, I'll give you no homework for the rest of the week."

Kendall's heart skipped a beat. No homework? But something was strange, and it put him off. And the way Mr Roberts was looking at him was starting to frighten him. "Why do I have to be good if we're just talking, Mr Roberts?" Kendall asked quietly, fearing the answer.

Mr Roberts sighed, not answering. Then he reached a hand out and ran it through Kendall's hair. "You're beautiful, baby," he said softly, lips curving into a smile.

Kendall's mind instantly screamed _'Danger!',_ that something was really wrong here. He shrank away in his seat, but Mr Roberts just leaned closer to him. "It won't hurt so much," the teacher said, smiling and reaching towards him again.

Kendall leaped up and ran towards the door, grabbing the handle and twisted it frantically, before remembering the door was locked. Before he could move again an arm grabbed him around the waist and lifted him off his feet. Kendall kicked at him, but his short legs didn't do any damage. "No need to be scared, we're just gonna play a little game . . ." he heard the man say.

"I don't want to! N-no, let go!" Kendall squealed, but he didn't.

Mr Roberts pushed him down onto his desk, before climbing on top of him. Kendall opened his mouth to scream for help, but the man's hand slammed over his mouth, effectively gagging him. "Shh," Mr Roberts whispered in his ear. "Just relax."

"No!" Kendall screamed, but it only came out as "Mmfff!" He struggled violently, but his teacher just held him down tightly with one arm and started unbuttoning his jeans. Kendall started to cry, sobbing and screaming as Mr Roberts dragged his jeans and underwear down his legs. Kendall's arms flew out and he tried to push the man off.

But he was bigger and a lot stronger. Kendall really didn't stand a chance. Mr Roberts starting taking his own pants off, Kendall watching with terrified eyes. He could see a bulge in the man's underwear, and he ended up lying still for a second just to stare at it in horror.

Mr Roberts leaned down and bit his shoulder, making him squeak in pain for a second, then he was finishing stripping off. And suddenly he was pushing Kendall's legs apart and scooting forward on his knees. "Please stop," Kendall cried, but it went unheard. Then there was only pure agony.

Kendall screamed in pain, his mouth still gagged, tears pouring down his cheeks. He found he couldn't struggle anymore, he could only lie there as Mr Roberts grunted in pleasure and lust, continuing to cause him such unbearable pain. Kendall wasn't even sure what was happening, all he knew was that it hurt, it hurt so bad, and the teacher _liked it._

Suddenly Mr Roberts stopped his movements, as Kendall felt something warm and wet trickling down his legs as the man pulled away from him, pulling up his pants. Kendall looked down to see that he was bleeding, along with the little splashes of white liquid on his thighs. He was still crying as Mr Roberts pulled his underwear and jeans, buttoning them for him while he just lay there. "I'm glad we had this talk," Mr Roberts said with a smile, licking his lips and getting off the desk, he went over to the door and unlocked, walking out and leaving it hanging open.

Kendall lay there for another second before struggling off the desk and onto the floor. It hurt to move. But he did anyway, running as fast as his little legs could carry him out into the hallway and towards the front door.

Kendall stumbled out into the schoolyard, tears still pouring down his cheeks. It hurt to try and walk; it hurt to do anything. He looked around, instantly paranoid about someone jumping out and attacking him. Then he realised he would have to somehow find his way home.

"Kendall, are you alright, honey?" Kendall looked up to see his friend Buddy's mom sitting in her car, looking at him with concern.

"I hurt myself," was all Kendall managed to reply quietly. "And I-I missed the bus, I think."

"You poor thing," she said sympathetically. "Would you like me to drive you home, sweetheart? I don't want you walking."

Kendall swallowed. It was Buddy's mom, he trusted her, didn't he? "Ok. Thank you." Kendall slowly walked over and opened the car door, climbing painfully into the backseat.

"What happened to you, sweetie?" she asked him as she started driving again.

"I fell," Kendall lied, starting to dry his eyes hurriedly.

"Oh." She didn't ask any more questions. She didn't speak again until they pulled up outside Kendall's house. "Here you go, Kendall. Tell your mom I said hi. And," She paused. "Feel better soon, ok?"

"Thank you," Kendall said quickly, before leaving the car and limping to the front door. He knew it would be left unlocked, since his mother wasn't working today. So he walked in, shutting it after him quietly and leaving his bag on the floor by the wall.

His mother immediately came storming into the hallway. "Kendall Donald Knight, you'd better have a good explanation for this!" she said angrily. "Why are you home so late?"

Just the thought if why he was home late brought it all back. His teacher's hands on him, bruising him, that unbearable pain . . .

Kendall didn't realise he was crying again until is mother was on her knees in front of him, suddenly looking worried. "Honey, what happened?"

"M-Mr Roberts," Kendall wailed, crying so hard he was trembling and had to sit on the floor; his legs wouldn't support him. "H-he hurt me, he t-touched me, here," Kendall swallowed, trying and failing to control the sobs. "Everywhere, and h-he said really bad things . . ." Kendall had to stop and catch his breath. "I hurt all over, Mom," he whispered at last, before dissolving into hysterical sobs again.

Jennifer stared at him in absolute horror. No, please no . . . "It's ok, sweetie." She put her arms around him, letting him bawl into her shoulder. "Everything's gonna be fine . . ." But she knew. She knew it wouldn't be.

She sat with Kendall and Katie and waited for her husband to get home. When he did, she left the children with a cartoon on TV (though she knew only Katie would watch it) and went to speak to him in the hallway.

"You need to watch the kids for a while," Jennifer said immediately, grabbing her bag and her jacket. "I have to go."

"Go where?" Will asked her curiously.

"The police station," Jennifer replied shortly. She took a deep breath, voice shaking as she added, "I think Mr Roberts from the school . . . he raped our son."

Harry Roberts was taken from his home by two police officers. Then he was taken to the station in a squad car, where he sat through a long interrogation with a judge on the sidelines. He was found guilty, and sentenced to a life in prison for sexual assault on a child below fourteen. The judge's face had turned hard and cold when she discovered the victim was only nine, and a student too. The odds wouldn't have been in Mr Roberts' favour either way.

The neighbours spoke about it for months afterwards, sympathising with the family. "That poor child," and "The cruelty of it all,", it was the number one gossip topic. Kendall heard a lot of it. He cried himself to sleep most nights; sometimes his dad heard him, and came into his room and sat with him for a while, singing him to sleep. The relaxation still never lasted long.

**PRESENT**

Yes, he was following him. It was a walk of ten or eleven blocks to his uncle's neighbourhood, and by the fourth block he was sure. What he'd been naive enough to hope wouldn't happen was happening now.

Or . . . maybe he was ok, like the man with the shopping cart. But still, the man with the shopping cart hadn't been following him. What should he do? Knock on someone's door? This was a residential neighbourhood, but all the houses were dark. Should he run? Kendall was a good runner; he could probably outdistance the man if he wasn't in good shape.

But he couldn't make himself do anything. He just kept walking mechanically down the street, while shivers ran up his spine at the thought of that man behind him. It was like he was stuck in a dream, where the monsters wouldn't get him as long as he didn't show he was afraid.

When he turned a corner he glanced back at him. He could see his red hair when he walked under a streetlight. His clothes were ragged but he looked strong and athletic. Like somebody who could easily overtake a nineteen-year-old boy running. From what he could see, already alarms were going off in his head. BAD. This man was dangerous, he wanted to do something bad to him.

He almost felt as though he were nine years old again. Bad things. Everything seemed to go clear and cold. Kendall's brain was whirring furiously, but no matter which way he turned the situation looked the same. Very bad. Dangerous. And underneath all these thoughts was a sickening litany _. I should've known I couldn't get away with this. Wandering around at night on my own . . . I should've known. Think of something, idiot! If you can't run, you need to find shelter. Fast._  
  
All the houses around him looked asleep, locked up. He had a horrible certainty that no one would let him in . . . but he had to do something. Kendall felt a sort of wrenching in his guts—and then he was heading towards the nearest house, taking the single porch step in a jump and landing on the welcome mat. Something inside him cringed from banging on the door, even in this extremity, but he clamped down the cringe and did it. Hollow bangs echoed—not loud enough, to Kendall's ears. He saw a doorbell and pushed on it frantically. He kept pounding, using the side of his fist because it hurt less than using his knuckles.

Inside, he could hear only silence. No reaction to his noisy intrusion. No footsteps hurrying to the door. _Oh God, answer! Come here and answer your door, you idiots!_

Kendall looked around and his heart nearly jumped out of his body. Because the redhead man was there; he was standing on the walkway of the house. Looking at him. And he was reallyreallyreally bad. All these thoughts Kendall received when looking at him were jumbled up and confusing, but put together just made one long scream. He'd done horrible things to other kids, and he wanted to do them to him.

No sound from the house. No help. And he was cornered prey there on the porch. He made his decision in an instant, and was off the porch and running, running in the rug direction before the man could even take a step. He heard his own pounding footsteps on the street—and pounding feet behind him. His breath began to come out in sobs.

And it was dark and he was confused. He didn't know which way his uncle's house was anymore. Somewhere around here he turned left—but where? That street there looked familiar. He couldn't even see the signs right now, so he just turned down the street, trying to push his legs into going faster.

Then he realised almost instantly the mistake he'd made.

A cul-de-sac. When he reached the end, he'd be caught. He glanced behind him. He was there, running, overcoat flapping like the wings of a bird of prey. He was ungainly but very fast. Kendall would even make it to the end of the cul-de-sac. If he ran to a house, he'd grab him as he stood on a porch. If he slowed down, he'd tackle him from behind. And if he tried to double back, he'd cut him off. Though it terrified him, the only thing to do was stand and fight.

Right, then. He pulled up short, staggering a little, and whirled around. He was standing in the widest part of the cul-de-sac, surrounded by parked cars. The man saw him and stumbled, slowing down, hesitating. Then, in a sort of half-run again, he started towards him. Kendall stood his ground. He was glad he hadn't dropped his duffel bag. Maybe he could use it as a weapon. Or maybe there was something inside . . . no, everything was too soft.

 _Then I'll use my fingers to stab his eyes out,_ he thought savagely. _And my knees and my feet and my fists_. Adrenaline was stinging in his veins; he was almost glad of the chance to fight back for once. "Come on, you creep," he whispered, knowing he probably hadn't been heard. He didn't care. What did he really care about anymore anyway?

The man did come. He was grinning, a crazy-happy grin. His eyes were crazy too. Kendall tensed his muscles, waiting for it. Just waiting for someone else to come and try to hurt him . . .

The man darted forward, grabbing hold of one of Kendall's wrists and in a split second twisting it and pulling him closer. Kendall's free hand flung out and slapped him across the face with his bag. The man grunted in pain, and his face twisted in anger as he grabbed Kendall again, by the arm this time. Kendall's knee flew up and struck him in the stomach, and they both stumbled backwards, the man clutching his stomach and snarling. Kendall felt nothing but the rush of adrenaline for a moment or two.

Then the man's eyes widened, and he started backing away. Kendall glared at him, wanting to scream at him to come back and just fight him! He wanted to hurt somebody; he wanted to make them feel just a fraction of the pain he did. The old Kendall would've been grateful that he was backing away. That soft Kendall, the Kendall that had something to care about. What did this Kendall have anymore? Nothing.

Then he felt a hand clamp over his mouth and an arm grabbing him from behind. He let out a muffled scream, arms immediately lashing out to try and push off his attacker. The redhead man turned and walked away, just like that. Kendall was trying to figure out why when he felt something whack the back of his head and everything faded away.

 

* * *

When Kendall woke up, at first he wasn't aware of it. Everything was dark around him, so for a second he couldn't see a thing. He was lying on his back, on something soft, he knew that much. He sat up and almost shrieked in pain when he felt his arm bend backwards rather painfully. He couldn't move his right arm at all, and when he tried to, he could feel something cutting into his wrist and a slightly metallic clattering sound.

He struggled frantically, then froze when he heard footsteps approaching. He half sat up, wincing when he still couldn't move his arm. Then, opposite him, a door opened, bright light filtering into the room. Kendall squinted at the sudden brightness as a shadow shaped like a tall, broad man appear at the door. The man walked in and moved his hand to the left of the doorframe, then he heard a click and suddenly the room was lit up by long lights on the ceiling.

Looking around he could see he was in a basement, or something; the room had no windows, and he could see a staircase outside the door. Except for what he was lying on, and an open door in the corner that led to a tiny bathroom, there was nothing in the room. Then his eyes fell on the man who had just shut the door behind him. He was quite tall, with a tangle of long dark brown hair tied in dreadlocks behind his head. He smiled at Kendall. "You're awake. Good." He pointed a little behind Kendall's head. "Sorry about that; had to make sure you didn't start wandering around."

Kendall looked and saw what prevented his arm moving; his wrist was handcuffed to the bedpost. He was lying on a bed. "Who the hell are you?" Kendall demanded fearfully, starting to struggle again. "Why did you bring me here?"

The man laughed. "Well, I'm Paul Gordon, sweetheart. But you can call me Daddy, or master, your choice." His smile widened. "And I know who you are." He nodded at Kendall's duffel bag lying in the corner, the messenger bag thrown on top of it. "You're Kendall Knight. Says so in your wallet."

"You still haven't told me why I'm here," Kendall said quietly, wishing his pounding heart would calm down a little.

"Oh." Paul laughed. "Well, you're my new bitch. Duh. I saw you, on the streets of LA, all alone. A body like yours." He chuckled fondly. "I'll be rich with you, babe."

"W-what?" Kendall felt as though he were suffocating. "No! You can't—"

"But I can." Paul seemed to enjoy watching Kendall squirm around, trying to break free. "But before you start working for me, I'm gonna have to . . . break you in." He winked and opened the door again. "We start tomorrow morning." Before he shut the door, he grinned and said, "You can cooperate with me and be a good whore. But if you're gonna be difficult, you should say a prayer tonight."

Kendall's reaction was a few seconds late; his shock only wore off slightly when the door slammed shut and the light was switched off. "No!" he screamed furiously, struggling with the restraints. "You can't do this! Let me go!"

After a while of screaming at the closed door, he gave up, exhausted tears sliding down his cheeks as he lay back down. How could this happen to him? Kidnap and prostitution? Seriously? He really did have such bad luck . . .

He lay there all night, shivering and crying. There was a blanket under him that he probably could've wrapped around himself, but most of the night he was too trapped in misery and fear to notice anything. What was going to happen to him? Breaking him in, what did Paul mean? He could only guess something horrible, painful.

He didn't know what time it was when the door opened again and the light turned on. "Hey, sweetheart," Paul greeted with a smile. "Waiting up for me?"

Kendall shut his eyes for a second, telling himself not to show how scared he was. Somehow, he'd just have to deal with it. Like he dealt with everything.  
  



	3. I Will Be Here, Don't You Cry

**  
10 YEARS AGO:**

Will was worried about Kendall. He was so quiet now, too quiet. He didn't smile much anymore, not since that . . . that creature had attacked him. The very memory of coming home to that news haunted him almost every hour of the day.

Kendall didn't sleep often enough. He would come downstairs in the mornings with large dark circles under his eyes and a ghostly pale face. He was yawning all the time, and only spoke when spoken to. It wasn't long until Will discovered he was always cold to touch, always shivering and shaking, and when asked persistently, admitted he was having really bad stomachs pains and headaches.

That was when Will decided to take him to the doctor. Kendall didn't even protest like he usually would; he just sat there silently in the backseat. When they arrived, the doctor checked Kendall over, frowning thoughtfully all the while. When he was done, he beckoned Will over to a corner of the office, leaving Kendall sitting on the examination table.

"Well?" Will asked immediately.

"Sir, has your son been under any . . . emotional stress lately? Any trauma?"

"Um . . . yes, he has." Will lowered his voice so his son wouldn't hear. "He was attacked, about five weeks ago."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry to hear that." There was a pause. "I would say it's likely he's become ill from the stress he's under," the doctor said, taking off his spectacles. "You said when you arrived that he hasn't been getting enough sleep either; that's a major contributing factor."

"What should I do? What medication would you recommend?"

"I think, more than anything, some relaxation and fresh air would do him the world of good," the man replied. "Better than anything I can prescribe for him. I would say maybe take him somewhere quiet for a few days. It'd probably make him a lot happier too."

So of course this was what Will decided to do. In the evening over dinner he explained what the doctor had said to Jennifer. "Will, you're being unreasonable," she said, annoyed. "I can't possibly take any time off work to take Kendall off on some vacation."

"You're not listening!" Will said with an exhausted sigh. "I'm taking him. I'm going to take a week off and bring Kendall to the coast, maybe South California. Somewhere quiet. It'll be good for him, ok?"

So it was settled. The next Sunday afternoon, Will had everything packed for their trip. They were staying in a little one-storey cottage a friend of his owned. They would be a couple of miles away from a place called Brawley, and would be there until the following Saturday, when they would drive back home.

Kendall was silent for most of the trip, head leaning against the car window, large eyes peering out at the scenery they passed. Will watched him in the rear view mirror, a concerned frown on his face. He really, really hoped this would make Kendall a little better.

It was one of those chilly West coast summers, where the sun was rarely out in some places. At their little house there was a chilly breeze blowing that Will immediately felt when he got out of the car. It was just gone six o'clock in the evening, and the beach below was almost deserted. Kendall hopped out of the car, immediately pulling his jacket tighter around him, shivering slightly. Will went and unlocked the door of the cottage, before going back to the car. "You go in out of the cold, ok? I'll get all this stuff inside."

During the day, there were a few people on the beach, but since it was the middle of the week, not too many ever showed up. Will and Kendall stayed on the beach for most of the day. They went swimming once or twice, though they mostly just walked around in the sand, or kicked a soccer ball back and forth. Kendall seemed to like it that way.

In the evenings when the beach was pretty much empty, Will took Kendall out for a walk in the fresh sea air, both of them bundled up in jackets and scarves as protection from the wind.

"Check it out," Will said on the Thursday evening, pointing at a set of footprints on the sand they were walking on. Well, he was walking on. He was carrying Kendall, who'd grown tired on their way back from the walk. "See the big feet, then the little ones? Probably a parent and their kid here, like you and me." He paused, looking around. "And look at this one; it's a man who came here with his dog."

Kendall gave a sweet smile, pointing a little further down the beach. "Then he let it go and it ran away."

"Yep, that's right." Will smiled at the little skinny boy in his arms. Then he frowned when he gave a little shiver and yawn almost at the same time. "You're getting cold, blondie. We'll go back to the house, ok?"

Kendall nodded sleepily, head resting on his dad's shoulder as the man carried him up the hill towards the little cottage. When they got inside, Kendall sat on the couch in the living room, kicking off his shoes and curling up his feet.

"I brought my guitar, and yours too," Will said. "You want me to get them? We can continue with your lesson."

Kendall nodded eagerly, and Will went and fetched the instruments from his room. He handed Kendall his and sat next to him. "Ok, where were we?" He paused, thinking. Then remembered, and smiled at his son, who was already frowning in concentration. "So, start with three downstrokes of the C chord . . ."

Kendall slept a lot better that week. Every night Will would sit next to him, talking to him or singing quietly until the boy fell asleep. And he would go check on him to see him sound asleep, not a trace of fear or worry on his face. It made him a lot happier to know he didn't have to worry as much about Kendall. He seemed happier than he'd been before.

Even when their trip ended and they drove back to Henderson, Kendall slept fine and the colour had begun to return to his face, the sparkle in his eyes almost returning with it. Sometimes he had nightmares, but much less often now. Complete recovery would probably never come, but at least he was halfway there.

**PRESENT:**

"Let me go!" Kendall protested, struggling violently against the hold Paul's cold, hard hands had on him. He was pushed face down into the mattress as he felt his hands being firmly tied behind his back. Paul ran a hand down his back, chuckling almost hungrily.

"Mmm, you just turn me on when you squirm around under me like this," he said softly. "They're gonna love you in the city."

"Stop it!" Kendall shouted as he heard a ripping sound, and the chill of a metal blade against his back before his shirt was completely yanked off him, ripped and useless as Paul tossed it onto the floor. Paul's hands slid under him and unbuttoned his jeans. Kendall kicked and screamed as his jeans and underwear were both yanked down his legs at the same time. He felt the cold air against his skin as his pants were tugged off his ankles and dropped onto the floor.

Kendall struggled even harder, crying in fear as Paul went back to straddling his legs, pushing his back down with one hand, then running the other over his bare ass. "You ready, baby? This is what it's gonna feel like if you don't work right . . ."

"Please—" Within a second or two, Paul moved off Kendall's legs, only to shove them apart, moving back down and lifting Kendall's hips. Paul slammed inside him, Kendall screaming in pain. This pain was even worse than when he'd felt it before. Maybe it was the fact that this guy wouldn't hesitate to hurt him; he wanted to break him. To break him.

Paul was already moving, slamming in and out of him and grunting in pleasure. "Scream for me, bitch!" Kendall felt a hand yanking his hair and he yelped in pain, unable to hold it in. He could feel Paul thrusting harshly into him, the pain so intense his entire body felt like fire. He couldn't breathe and screaming didn't make it any easier. He heard Paul laughing behind him and the hand yanked his head back by the hair, and he felt teeth sink into his neck. He screamed louder, wondering how the hell he'd got himself into this mess.

Trying to squirm away didn't do any good, trying to kick at his attacker had no effect. Then Kendall felt skin tear and blood trickling down his legs, and he kept screaming but nobody heard except the man causing the pain, and then suddenly Paul moaned loudly and he could feel his seed filling him. He felt dirty and used, and in so much pain. The hand in his hair yanked him back up, and his eyes locked with Paul's, and he heard the laughing voice. "You're one dynamite piece of ass, bitch."

Kendall could only shake and cry as Paul pulled out of him and untied his wrists, leaving him lying there on the bed. "I think we're halfway there already with you, Kendall. Another couple of rounds and you should be ready." He paused, smiling and running his hand along Kendall's back again. "Maybe even less, if you're broken sooner. But, for now, it's time for step two. I'll see you in a day or two, baby."

Kendall heard the door slamming shut and the little click of the lock. It took a good fifteen minutes until he found the strength and will power to move, slowly getting up in his knees. His ass was stinging and burning at the same time, and he found as he felt that, he realised he was cold again. He shivered as he slowly reached down and picked up his underwear and jeans. He managed to pull them on with shaking hands, before crawling off the bed and landing on the concrete floor with a thump and a whimper of pain.

He grabbed the blanket that had been tossed on the floor and wrapped it all around himself, before moving back until he was sitting against the wall, curled up in the thick blanket, away from the mattress. He didn't want to be anywhere near it; he would sleep on the floor. After a moment of sitting there, he crawled back over to grab the pillow off the bed, then brought it back to his spot and put it on the floor, lying back down. Snuggled up in his blanket cocoon, he almost felt safe. If he shut his eyes and tried to visualise himself elsewhere, it did make him feel a little better. And at some point, he must have fallen asleep.

When Kendall woke up, the raging pain in his backside was the first thing to remind him where he was. He rolled onto his back slowly, still wrapped up in the blanket from the bed, still lying on the floor. His duffel bag as still lying in the corner. He was tempted to go and find the sweater he knew he'd packed, but he didn't want to try and move. It hurt too much.

Then he realised why he had woken up. He could hear footsteps on the stairs outside. He lay still. Hoping whoever it was would turn around and go away. But Kendall's head snapped up when he heard he door open. He was surprised to see, instead of Paul, a tall, dark-haired guy who didn't look much older than he was. He was carrying a flat white cardboard box and a bottle. "Hi," he said quietly, shutting the door behind him and turning on the light. He looked stricken when Kendall backed away from him, curling up in the corner. "Hey, it's ok. I'm not gonna hurt you."

He moved forward and knelt on the floor in front of Kendall. "I brought you some pizza, and water." He put the bottle down. "I figured Paul probably wasn't feeding you properly, if at all."

Kendall watched him for a second, then slowly reached out, taking the box in his hand. "Thank you," he whispered.

"I'm Jason," he said with a smile. "What's your name?"

Kendall hesitated for a moment, then quietly replied, "Kendall."

"Ok. Nice to meet you, Kendall." Jason smiled sympathetically. "Look, I know you're probably scared, and angry. But you need to cooperate. Paul isn't the worst boss in the world, you know. And if you do what he says, you'll be a lot happier." He smiled again. "I'll be here for you."

Kendall gave a tiny smile back, opening the pizza box. The food was still warm, and he picked up a slice and took a huge bite after saying, "Thanks, Jason."

Kendall was stuck down in the basement for two days. He was starving and thirsty a lot of the time; he had to ration the water he had, having been informed by Jason that the whole point of step two was to weaken him, to punish him, and he wouldn't always be able to bring him anything without Paul knowing. And it was so cold down there; he still slept on the floor, curled up in the corner and trying to preserve as much body heat as possible.

According to his watch, it was six in the morning when the door opened again. He had no sense of time in this dark place. He watched in fear as the light flickered on to reveal Paul, standing there with a smile on his face. "Hey, baby. Ready for step three?"

Kendall could only shake his head, pulling the blanket tighter around his body and cowering away when Paul stepped closer. "Trying to hide from me?" Paul walked right up to Kendall and grabbed at the blanket, yanking it away. When Kendall tried to hold onto it, there was a click and suddenly Paul's free hand was pointing a handgun straight at him. "Look," he said, sounding more threatening than before. "You're gonna have to learn to behave yourself. I'll do whatever it takes to make you behave." He pulled the blanket from Kendall's suddenly slack hands.

"Bed. Now." He pulled Kendall to his feet by the arm, pointing the gun at him and herding him towards the bed. Kendall stumbled backwards and landed on the mattress, staring up at Paul almost frozen with fear. He had no doubt that Paul would put a bullet in is head if he didn't do what he was told. But he really, really didn't want this . . .

Paul grabbed Kendall's arms and forced them behind his back, Kendall's struggles doing no good as his hands were tied together again. Kendall was then flipped onto his back, and pulled onto his knees. "Here's how it's gonna go down. You're gonna suck my cock, then I'm gonna fuck you senseless until you agree to do your job right."

Kendall shook his head, whimpering in fear as Paul ripped off his shirt and then his jeans and underwear, revealing his huge, leaking erection. He stood in front of Kendall, the gun still in his hand. "Do it, now."

"N-no," Kendall stuttered weakly, despite the fact that he was staring down the barrel of a gun.

Paul gritted his teeth, moving forward so his cock brushed off Kendall's face. When Kendall kept his mouth firmly shut, Paul murmured, "Fine, then," and suddenly Kendall's nose was being pinched so tightly he couldn't breathe. But he kept his mouth shut, shaking in fear.

"I'll wait, as long as it takes." Kendall's lungs began to feel as though they would burst. He opened his mouth to take a quick gasp of air. Immediately Paul thrust forward into his mouth, choking him. Kendall gagged and tried to pull off, but Paul kept the barrel of the gun pressed to the back of his head. "Suck it. Now."

Kendall whimpered in fear, struggling a little more. Then, however, he felt this was it. He gave up. Cautiously, he swirled his tongue around Paul's dick, choking a little again when Paul pushed further forward at the movement. Kendall sucked a little harder on it, squeaking in pain at the grip Paul had on his hair with his free hand. He kept sucking, occasionally scraping his teeth lightly off it. He was still shaking in fear, because there was still a gun pointed to his head that could go off any second.

Paul suddenly pulled out of his mouth. "Not bad. You'll get better, I guess." He grinned at Kendall, then grabbed him and pushed him down onto his back, starting to take off his pants with one hand and still pointing the gun at him with the other. He completely stripped Kendall and then moved on to his own jeans, Kendall just staring at the ceiling with scared eyes.

"You ready for me, baby?" Kendall wasn't, but he didn't bother saying anything. It wouldn't have done any good.

Paul pushed Kendall's legs apart and slammed into him again, grunting in pleasure at the tightness around him. Kendall didn't scream this time; he found he couldn't, he could only lie there and cry. Paul started moving immediately, and Kendall just lay there, shaking in Paul's arms. He could feel himself losing the feeling in his arms, still lying on them as Paul raped him mercilessly.

When Paul was finished, he untied Kendall and left him lying there, turning off the light and locking the door again. Again, Kendall climbed off the bed, re-dressed himself with shaking hands and curled back up in the blanket, sitting in the corner with tears running down his face.

The next time Paul came to see Kendall, the only thing he did was pick up his bags from the corner, and say, "You're gonna live upstairs now, with the others. There'll be food on thirty minutes of you want it. And then at eight you're going out, with Jason. Don't mess this up."

He herded Kendall up the stairs, and for the first time he saw what was there. A small hallway, with a few doors leaving to bedrooms, he presumed. He was led to one of the bedrooms. "You're sleeping in here." Paul dumped his stuff on the floor and left. Kendall just stood there awkwardly, not sure whether or not to try and find out which bed would be his. He left the room after a minute or two, looking for the kitchen. But when he got there he found he couldn't eat a single thing.

The next thing he knew Paul was bringing him back to his room, before going to the closet and digging around in it for a minute or two. "This is what you'll wear," Paul said simply, handing him a pair of skin-tight jeans and a button down shirt. "And this is what you'll carry with you." Paul tossed him a couple of condoms and a mini bottle of lube. "Anything else you want to take, you can get it yourself."

Paul left the room. Kendall slowly changed his clothes and only a minute or two later, Jason walked in. "C'mon, let's get going."

Jason drove silently, Kendall sitting completely still in the passenger seat. He thought about trying to jump out of the car and make a run for it. But there were too any risks. And he chose to trust Jason, so he wouldn't run away from him. When Jason stopped the car outside a busy hotel. They both got out, and Jason walked up to Kendall. "Ok, since this is your first night out I figure it won't be too easy for you, so I'll find you your first customer. That alright?"

Kendall nodded, though none of this was really alright with him. "Thanks."

There were a good few people standing outside the hotel. Jason seemed to spot a likely target and walked over to them, a confident smile on his face. Kendall watched a little nervously as Jason talked to the man he'd chosen, before coming back over to him as the man walked away. "He's got a room here," he said to Kendall. "613. Be there in ten minutes, ok?"

Kendall nodded slowly, swallowing. "Ok."

Jason smiled sympathetically. "Hey, you'll be fine. Don't think too much."

Jason left, probably to find a client for himself. Kendall took a deep breath and headed towards the elevator with slightly shaky legs. Once inside the elevator, he leaned against the wall and shut his eyes, taking deep slow breaths to try and calm himself down. Then the elevator stopped, and he had to get out. Walking down the hallway towards that room was like living in a nightmare, knocking on the door was worse.

He heard footsteps coming towards the door and could hardly breathe. This was so frightening he truly didn't understand it. The door opened, and the man was standing there, a small smile appearing on his face. "You're here."

Kendall could only nod, his ability to speak temporarily taken from him. He walked into the small hotel room when the man held the door open for him. After a second of just standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, he pulled off his jacket and tossed it on a chair nearby. Then he went and sat on the bed with his bag in his hand , beckoning the stranger over. He figured that was close enough to what he should do. The man came over, bending down towards him, "How much do you want for the night?"

All Kendall could manage was, "We'll see."

Their lips joined together, the man's hands moving down to rest on his hips as they lay down on the bed. Kendall found he really didn't like this feeling, being pinned underneath him. It was too familiar, it brought back memories he wanted to stay crammed up in that dark corner of his brain, never to be relived again. Then he could feel the man's hands moving under his shirt, and it suddenly became too much to bear.

"N-no, stop it, get off me," Kendall gasped, hands suddenly shoving the man off by the shoulders.

The stranger looked surprised as Kendall scooted out from underneath him, pushing him away harder when he tried to get closer. "Is something up with you—"

"I don't want to, I can't, I can't . . ." Kendall shrank away from him, shaking. "I-I'm sorry . . ."

"No, it's ok. I mean, between you and me this probably wasn't a good idea anyways." He paused, frowning. "Hey, you're crying. Are you alright?"

Kendall shook his head slightly. "Not really. I'm just . . ." He sniffed and wiped at his eyes with his hands. "Why isn't this a good idea?"

"Well, I'm . . ." He looked a little embarrassed to say it. "I'm married."

"Oh." Kendall was surprised. "Um . . ."

But he was already going on in a rushed voice. "We've been fighting so much lately, and I think she's thinking of getting a split, and honestly I was thinking of it too, that's why I'm here . . ." There were tears in his eyes. "But I love her. And she's pregnant too, and I just feel like I've messed everything up . . ."

"Um . . ." Kendall scooted forward on his knees, and hesitantly leaned forward to give him a small hug. "Well, I'm sure you can fix it. You just need to go back and . . . and tell her that you're sorry, and that you love her."

"What if she doesn't forgive me?" he whispered, sounding lost. "What if—"

"You can still try, ok? And I'd bet you any money she will take you back." Kendall paused. Then, deciding the silence was kind of awkward, casually asked, "How far along is she? Your wife?"

"Oh." The man smiled a little. "Six months. It's gonna be a girl, the doctor says."

"That's nice," Kendall replied with a smile. "Do you have a name?"

"No, not yet. We're working on it." He paused, then held out his hand. "My name is Simon. Simon Leahy."

Kendall shook his hand, smiling a little more. "I'm Kendall."

Simon smiled at him. Then he frowned slightly, tilting his head thoughtfully. "Kendall, how old are you?"

"I just turned nineteen," Kendall replied truthfully.

"Oh." Simon looked surprised. "Aren't you . . . a little young to be a prostitute?"

"No, I'm not. There are others younger than me."

"Yeah, I know. But . . ." Simon ran a hand through his hair. "You're a kid, really." He gave Kendall a serious glance. "Why are you working like this?"

"I . . ." Kendall often chose to be honest; this was no exception. "I didn't exactly choose this."

"Oh." Simon looked very surprised. "I can help you, you know. If you want I—"

"No," Kendall said quickly. He figured there was no easy way out of this, whoever tried to help him. And plus, if he was saved, who could say he wouldn't just be shipped back to Henderson? He would never go back there. Never. "It's ok. I'm just getting used to it, to be honest. It's my first night, but I'll be fine."

"I promise," he added firmly when Simon didn't look convinced.

Simon frowned at him, sighing. "Ok, fine." He reached down for his jacket and fished around in the large pocket for a moment or two. Then he pulled out a pen. "Give me your arm."

After a brief hesitation, Kendall did. He watched as Simon pulled back his shirt sleeve and quickly jotted down seven digits, before carefully covering them with the sleeve again. "My number. In case you . . . if you get into any trouble and you need some help."

"Thanks." Kendall moved off the bed, grabbing his jacket and putting it on. "I think I should get going. Good luck with your wife, and your baby."

"Wait."

Kendall turned around. "Yes?"

"Here." Simon reached into his wallet and pulled out a small wad of notes. He held it out, wsmiling.

Kendall just stared at him. "I can't take that from you!"

"Yes you can," Simon said firmly. "Look, if you don't want me to do anything to help you, the least I can do is give you this. Maybe you didn't give me sex, but you still gave me something. I'm just paying you for it."

Kendall bit his lip thoughtfully. Then he slowly reached forward, taking the money and slipping it into his pocket. "Thank you, so much."

"No problem, Kendall." Simon grinned at him. "I hope to see you around sometime."

"Me too." Kendall gave him another smile, then turned and walked towards the hotel room door, opening it and walking out.

He waited in the lobby for Jason to come, and then they both went back to Paul's. Kendall handed on his money with a pounding heart.

Somehow, Paul could tell Kendall hadn't got him that money through doing his new 'job' right. He got beaten that night and locked up in the freezing cold basement. He decided that he wouldn't be getting out of this. He'd just have to start doing what Paul wanted. Whether he liked it or not.  
  



	4. It's Really Something, It's Fearless

**  
7 YEARS AGO**

"Kendall! Get up, you'll be late for school!"

"I don't care," Kendall murmured into his pillow, groaning. But he sat up anyway, throwing the blanket off and getting off the bed. He straightened up and stretched, yawning. He hated Mondays, hated them with the very core of his being. Not that he did much on a weekend anyway, but still. He went and had a shower, before getting dressed into a t-shirt, faded jeans and a pair of converse shoes.

"Morning," he mumbled sleepily as he wandered into the kitchen fifteen minutes later, hair slightly damp from the shower. His mom, dad and sister were sitting at the table, eating bowls of cereal.

"Morning, honey," Mrs Knight said, smiling up at him as he went

to get his own breakfast. "Good sleep?"

Kendall shrugged. "Guess so. Didn't have any nightmares, that's good."

Both Kendall's parents watched him with sympathetic gazes, six-year-old Katie completely oblivious to it, as usual. He sat down at the table with his breakfast, eating quietly and only speaking when spoken to. He was too tired to think functionally.

Twenty minutes later, Kendall left the house and began his walk to school. The fresh air certainly did some good to wake him up, if anything. The sounds of car horns, dogs barking and squealing kids had the same effect. When he got to school, he wandered inside past all the different social groups and wondered if he'd ever fit into any of them.

"Hi Kendall!" a blonde girl squealed happily when she saw him, running over and knocking down several unfortunate students in her path.

"Hi," Jenny," Kendall greeted with a tired smile, getting ready to face the long day.

7th grade wasn't so bad. Sure, he didn't have many friends, because he wasn't good at talking to people, but he had a few. Jenny and Buddy were his best friends, and even if he wasn't particularly close to them, he was happy they were around. But every day he just waited for it to be over. Today was no different; his heart filled with relief when the final bell rang and he could just walk home for a bit of time to himself.

Kendall slung his backpack onto his back, walking out of school and past the gates. He hummed quietly to himself as he headed home, actually feeling like he had a little energy for once. He walked along the street, spotting only a few other people and finding the peace a little refreshing. Suddenly he stumbled, and looked down to see the laces of his left converse shoe hanging loose.

Kendall sighed, bent down and was quickly tying his shoelace when he felt someone grab him. He screamed and immediately started struggling, kicking and hitting at his captor as he was lifted off his feet, pulled backwards into the narrow alleyway and thrown onto the ground. His bag fell next to him, his phone inside it and out of reach. He looked up in fear to see a tall man staring down at him, smirking. "Well, aren't you a pretty little thing?" he said, chuckling to himself as he stepped closer.

Kendall shrank back from him, shaking in terror. He thought for one terrifying moment that the man was reaching down to grab him, but instead he reached for his backpack, turning it upside down and spilling everything out. "Let's see if you got anything worthwhile in here . . ."

Kendall saw this as an opportunity, and struggled to his feet. He turned to run back out onto the street, but heard a laugh and then footsteps behind him, before two arms grabbed him by the waist. "Help!" he screamed, sobbing in fear as he prayed there was someone around to hear him. "Help m—"

The man threw him against the wall, knocking the breath out of him before punching him across the face. "Shut up!"

He bent closer to Kendall, who as now sitting on the ground, hand on his stinging cheek. "Guess I'm gonna have to reach you a lesson. Lie down, or I might make it worse for you."

Kendall's eyes widened in horror when he realised what was intended and he started to try and get up again, only to be pulled back down and held tightly in place. "No, please!" he sobbed. "I'm sorry, please don't . . ."

"Just be quiet. There wasn't a thing in that bag anyway, so I guess I'll just have to take you instead—"

"Over my dead body!" A fist came from nowhere and slammed into the man's cheek, knocking him off of Kendall. Kendall looked up to see a head of blonde hair and angry green eyes.

"Dad . . ." Kendall started crying again, though from relief this time. He watched as his dad came at the attacker again, shoving him against the wall and punching him again. "Stay the hell away from him, prick!"

Kendall heard police sirens in the distance and breathed another sigh of relief. "Stay right here, if you know what's good for you," his dad snarled at the man.

Only five minutes later, a police car pulled up and the mugger was arrested. As soon as an officer had a hold of him, Will Knight was dashing over to his son, helping him to stand up before pulling him into a hug. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

"N-no," Kendall replied quietly, hugging his dad back like his life depended on him. "I'm fine."

Will smiled down at him. "Ok, good. Come on, we'll go over to the police, they'll want a statement from us. Then I'll take you home."

Kendall nodded and followed him over to the police car. They asked them both a few questions about what had happened, let them pack up Kendall's bag, then the two walked down the street to where Will had left his car. They drove home in an awkward silence, until Kendall quietly said, "Thank you."

Will turned to look at him, then smiled slowly. "No problem."

When they got home, the house was empty. Kendall sat down in the living room, figuring he should start his homework but unable to find the drive. His dad sat down next to him. "Feeling ok?"

Kendall nodded slowly. "I think so. I'm just a little shaken."

"At least he didn't hurt you," Will commented. He was silent for a moment or two. Kendall found the silence a little awkward, almost worrying.

"I want to drive you home, for the next few days," Will said to Kendall. "Just in case, alright?"

Kendall had no objections whatsoever.

Four days later, and Will was still driving Kendall home from school. He normally stayed for a little while and had lunch, before going back to work. Will was being so affectionate, spending every second he could with Kendall, and Katie and his mom too, even more so than usual. Today however, was different. Kendall was at home when his dad had returned from work. They went and watched the end of a hockey game on TV, but as soon as it was over, Kendall was surprised to see his dad get up and leave the room, looking somewhat strained. Kendall slowly followed him out into the hallway.

"Where are you going?" Kendall asked him, seeing his dad put on his jacket and zip it up.

"Just out, to take care of something," Will replied, grabbing his keys. He paused, "Come here."

Kendall walked over to him, and was slightly surprised when his dad pulled him into a hug. "I love you, alright? Just remember that."

Kendall nodded, not really sure where this was coming from. "Love you too."

Kendall watched as Will opened the front door and left, shutting the door and locking it behind him. He went back to the living room and decided to start his homework, listening when his mother came home with Katie, listening to the sounds of his mother working in the kitchen, making dinner.

Only three hours later, everything just fell apart.

Kendall's head snapped up when he heard the doorbell ringing. He stood up and made his way to the door of the living room, watching as his mother went and opened the door. He was surprised and worried to see two police officers standing there, looking grim. "Jennifer Knight?"

"Yes." There was a pause. "Is something wrong?"

"Well, um . . ." The first officer cleared his throat. "I'm afraid we have some bad news, regarding your husband."

"Yes, what is it?" Ms Knight suddenly sounded very nervous.

"He . . . he's dead," the second policeman said uncomfortably.

Kendall's eyes went impossibly wide. He felt himself growing colder; he was shaking and he didn't even realise. He heard echoing voices, his mother and the cops, before the door slamming indicated that they were gone. He still couldn't breathe.

At some point he remembered his mother calling Katie downstairs, and trying to explain the situation to her, trying to tell her that her daddy was never coming back to them . . .

Jennifer went to see his body in the morgue, making Kendall and Katie stay outside. But Kendall didn't pay attention and ran in after her, frozen in horror at the sight of a body barely recognisable on the metal table, burnt black and distorted like a hideous deformed monster. And it all became too real, too much to bear.

"No . . ." Kendall whispered.

"K-Kendall . . .?"

"No no no no no no no," Kendall whimpered, stuttering that word over and over again as he felt his knees buckle underneath him. He felt an arm around him, trying to comfort him, but he didn't care, he barely noticed.

The cops charged the mugger's fellow gang members with the murder, though they couldn't prove it. The family was given protection by the authorities for a few months, until it became clear the gang weren't going to bother them anymore now that Will was dead.

Three days after the funeral, the three drove out into a deserted spot on the side of the road to release Will's ashes. There were a few widely spread trees, the ground sandy and blowing a little dust through the wind. They all got out of the car, standing together in a line. Jennifer slowly lifted the lid off the box. With red, tearful eyes, she gently tilted the box and poured some of the ashes put, watching them blow away.

"Here you go, Katie," Jennifer said gently, handing her the box. "It's your turn now. Just tip a little bit out, ok? Not too much."

Katie nodded solemnly, tilting the wooden box so a thin trail of ashes fell out, blowing away into the dust. "Bye, Daddy," she said softly, an innocent expression on her face.

"Good girl," Jennifer said weakly, taking the box from her and handing it to Kendall. "Your turn, honey. Empty it out."

Kendall held the box, staring down at the ashes inside. This was all that was left. His father, so kind and so brave, saving him, always being there for him . . . this was all that was left. He wasn't there anymore. He couldn't be. They'd taken him away from them, he would never see him again. Ever.

_It's because of me._

The realisation hit Kendall like a train as his hands started to tremble, his lips trembling too as he stared harder down at the box. It had to be a mistake, it had to be, his father wasn't dead, his dad didn't die because of him, he didn't kill his dad, he didn't, it wasn't true—

_Because of me._

Kendall's hands tipped the box, letting the wind take the ashes away. He felt a lump in his throat getting bigger by the second. The empty box slipped from is hands, clattering to the ground. Empty. It was empty, it was all gone, everything was gone—

"No!" Kendall stared at the ground, wanting to dive down and try to gather up the ashes again, even though he couldn't even see them. "No, oh my God, no . . ." Kendall started to cry, tears sliding down his cheeks.

"Kendall, calm down," Jennifer tried to reassure him, trying to hold him up as he struggled vainly against her hold.

"He didn't do anything wrong!" Kendall screamed into the wind, ignoring his sister's frightened whimpers at his reaction. "He d-didn't deserve to die . . ."

"Kendall, hush, please calm down . . ."

"D-Daddy. . ." Kendall sobbed, fighting with his mother's grip on him. "Please . . ."

"Kendall, it's ok, it's ok," his mother said with a few tears sliding down her own face. But it wasn't, it wasn't, it never would be again—

"Let go of me!" Kendall wailed. "It's n-not fair!"

Mrs Knight finally let go, and Kendall dropped to his knees, hands fisting the dusty ground, little spots of it darkening when his tears landed. "It's all my f-fault . . ."

**PRESENT**

Paul only wanted Kendall to dance now. He decided he wasn't good enough to send out on the streets, and kept him in the confines of the club. Kendall had to admit he was happier dancing in there than outside offering sex. Even if he still wasn't particularly enthusiastic.

Tonight Kendall was in some sort of naughty police officer outfit; sometimes what Paul had them wear had a theme or a purpose to it, other times it didn't matter once it was tight and revealing. The black belt around Kendall's waist was already stuffed with bills, some only a dollar, others a lot bigger. He swayed his hips slowly and sensually against the men gathered around him; he was currently dancing on the floor of the club rather than up on a nearby stage. Paul liked variety.

Kendall spun around and looked behind him to face the rest of the men watching him, seeing a tall, dark-haired man smirking at him slightly hungrily. He gave him a little smile back, hands above his head as he continued to dance. The man held up a folded up paper bill, his smirk widening. So Kendall made his way towards him, swinging his hips a little more as he reached him, but holding still for a second so the man could tuck the cash into his belt. Kendall, in return, ran his hand through his dark hair and down his chest, rubbing their hips together slightly and giving him a little wink before turning and dancing away back onto the stage.

He grabbed hold of the pole on the stage, swinging from it and grinding his hips against it before crouching so his ass would be in full view. He felt a hand come in contact with his ass and looked over his shoulder. He wanted to find whoever just had the nerve to spank him and scream, "You did not just do that!" However, he gave a little smile as if he loved it, swinging from the pole a little more, practically on repeat most of the night, because somehow the customers just didn't get bored of it. Eventually he got to leave the stage and just fall into bed, asleep instantly and waking up in the morning with slightly stiff muscles.

The next night, Kendall was serving drinks and offering little private dances around the club. It wasn't bad, at least not everyone was staring at him all the time. Tonight, he was wearing tiny denim shorts, with a t-shirt that ripped off halfway down, hanging a little loosely halfway down his torso, his flat stomach exposed. He was just glad all his puppy fat was long gone.

"Here you are," Kendall said with a wink, handing a customer his drink before leaving him, carrying his tray by his side. He stopped by one of the empty tables, picking up an abandoned empty beer bottle and throwing into into the trash by the bar.

"Hey," came a voice behind him, a hand tapping on his shoulder.

Kendall turned around to see a dark-haired man standing in front of him. It was that smirk that made Kendall remember him from before. "Hi," he said with a little smile. "Looking for something?" He quirked an eyebrow, unable to help smirking and saying, "See anything you like?"

The man chuckled a little darkly. "I see a lot." He paused, cocking his head slightly. "Can I get a shot of tequila? And some time with you?"

"All you want," Kendall replied with a smile. "I'll be right back." He turned and walked towards the bar, a little extra sway in his hips for good measure.

He got the drink ready and left his tray on the counter, holding the tiny glass in his hand as he walked back over to the man. "I live to serve," he said with a small wink, handing the drink to the man sitting on one of the small couches. The man patted his lap, grinning when Kendall sat down in it, crossing his long legs and resting them over the arm of the chair.

"I never got your name," the man said with a smile, winding a casual arm around Kendall's waist.

Kendall gave a flirty smile, "I'm Kendall."

"Kendall." The name rolled off his tongue before he said, "Would that be your real name, or some sexy stage thing?"

Kendall laughed. "Nope, that's my name. Don't wear it out." He paused, running a finger along the man's jaw. "What about you, handsome?"

The man chuckled. "I'm Sean." He raised his glass in a silent toast, before downing it all in one gulp. "So, Kendall," he said when he finished. "I've got quite a bit of cash on me and feel like spending it. So, how about you go get another two shots, one for me and for you, then come back here and give me a lap dance?"

"I'd be happy to," Kendall replied, getting up and heading off again.

Ten minutes later, Kendall was straddling Sean's lap as a new song began playing from the massive speakers, though keeping balanced with his knees on either side of him, so that their hips weren't touching, but were only a little apart. His left hand moved up to rest at the back of Sean's neck, the other holding his glass. Slowly, he swayed his hips in a full circle, barely grazing his crotch off Sean's lower stomach as he moved forward. Sean let out a low growl, one of his arms moving up and down Kendall's bare back. Kendall gave him a little seductive smirk, swaying his hips forwards and back another few times, before lowering himself down to full on grind their hips together.

Sean threw back his head with a grunt, face open in a huge grin as his hand left Kendall's back for a second, hovering in the air. Kendall took this and moved his hips up again, balancing on his knees and pushing back until he felt Sean"s hand brush against the small of his back. Sean immediately grabbed on to him again, sliding his hand down a little until it barely touched Kendall's ass. Kendall gave a little laugh, choosing to encourage it as he leaned forward, his lips forming a little 'o' as he blew along the skin of the older man's neck and throat, keeping his lower body stretched out behind him with his back arched as Sean ran his hand all over his ass. He gave a tiny little moan as he ground their hips together again, Sean chuckling and giving one of Kendall's ass cheeks a little squeeze.

The song began to end, so Kendall straightened up, still straddling Sean's waist. "You know, you're lucky there isn't a 'No Touching' rule in this club," Kendall said with a smirk as Sean finally removed his hands from his body, before reaching into his pocket, taking out two hundred dollar bills and handing them over to Kendall, who slid them into a small pocket on his shorts.

Sean shrugged, smirking. "Guess you're just too hard to resist." He raised his shot glass, and he and Kendall clinked their drinks together before throwing their heads back and gulping them down. "Hmm, will you be working tomorrow?" Sean asked, leaving his glass on a side table and wrapping both arms around Kendall's waist. "I don't think I've had enough yet."

"I'm working every night this week," Kendall replied with a wink. "But just so you're aware, when I'm dancing there is a 'No Touching' rule, and that's where I'll be tomorrow."

"I can put up with that," Sean replied with a smile.

They sat there and chatted for another hour, before Kendall realised he should probably start paying attention to other customers. "I should go," he said apologetically, moving to get up from Sean's lap. Sean held onto him, a pout on his lip. "Seriously. There are other men in here besides you, and I have to serve all of them." Kendall gave a smile as Sean let go of him, and stood up. "There'll be other nights, Sean." He turned to walk away, but glanced back over his shoulder and gave a sexy little wink, "See you around," and walked away.

 

* * *

Kendall wasn't looking forward to a full strip tonight. It was the exposure more than anything; he knew the basics of what to do. Paul had advised him beforehand, saying it was all in the hips, and the eyes. Kendall could follow that. He had hips and he could use them. Some special look in his eyes wouldn't be a massive issue either. It was stripping and not rocket science, after all.

He stared down at the outfit he would soon be taking off; a short-sleeved white shirt unbuttoned all the way down, tucked into tiny black shorts that just about covered his ass, which were held up by thin black suspenders. On his feet he had black ripped stockings up just past his knees, with a white garter around his left thigh for money. He was standing backstage, twiddling his thumbs slightly nervously. What if he failed epically and they all laughed at him? Or what if he did well and none of them would leave him alone? What if he didn't make any money? Would Paul lock him in the basement again? What if—

"Relax, Kendall."

Kendall turned to see Jason standing there, watching him with worried and yet slightly amused eyes. "I am relaxed," Kendall lied, faking a large, cheesy grin.

"No, you're not. Your hands are shaking."

"They're not!"

"They are. Dude, half of them are already drunk and horny, they're easily pleased. Just don't trip and you'll be fine."

 _Shit_. "But what if I do trip? What happens then?" Kendall asked in a panicked voice.

Jason sighed, a tired smile on his face. "Just rip something off and they'll get distracted."

"Um . . . ok. Yeah, I can do this. I think . . ."

"Kendall, you're sexy, you can do it." Jason gave him a quick pat on the back, before walking away. "Wait for the song to start."

Kendall bit his lip and stood there, waiting. The music changed to the beginning of a new song, Kendall taking a deep breath and pushing the curtain back to walk onto his small stage. There were no lights on it at that moment; Paul had the unoccupied stages kept in darkness until there was someone dancing. On this stage was a tall metal pole lodged in the floor of the stage stretching up to the ceiling. He held onto it for a minute to steady himself as the stage lit up enough to display him clearly. He let go of the pole as people began to pay attention to him, resting a hand on his chest and beginning to sway his hips slowly.

Kendall's eyes scanned the club, then his eyes widened slightly when he saw a familiar face in the audience, that hungry smirk there again. _Ohmygod it's Sean, fuck, ok, be cool—_

But Kendall turned around, thinking that maybe Sean didn't see his face and didn't realise who he was. He didn't know why it mattered; it just did. He started dancing with his back to the spectators, moving his hands up to tangle in his hair as he swayed his hips. He heard cheers and figured he was doing well, smiling to himself. However, then he remembered he couldn't dance like this forever. It was stripping time.

Kendall sighed inwardly, hands moving up to his shoulders and pulling down the suspenders, dropping his arms as the suspenders fell loosely down to his hips, the shorts beginning to fall with them. He heard whistles and cheers behind him and bit his lip as he wiggled his hips slightly, letting the shorts slip down over his thighs, before moving a hand down to push them the rest of the way. The cheering only got louder as he took one foot out of his shorts, giving his ass a little shake.

Kendall took hold of the tall metal pole next to him with his right hand, spinning back so he was leaning against the pole and facing the spectators again. The foot with the shorts hanging off it kicked in the air, the clothes flying away and Kendall deciding it was a good thing he was flexible enough to lift his leg so high his knee was almost touching his shoulder. He put the foot back down before he bent his knees and slid down the pole slowly and sensually, before straightening back up with a slight smirk in his eyes. He watched the men who stared at him with such hungry eyes it made him feel a little uncomfortable. He just threw his head back and ground his ass back against the pole, running his left hand up his chest and through his hair.

After a few moments of just grinding back against the pole, Kendall's hands moved to the hem of his shirt, whistling and encouraging sounds in his ears as he pulled it off his shoulders, letting it crumple onto the floor of the stage. So there he was, just dancing there in a little red thong. He hated wearing it, but it was better than being completely naked. It showed his ass off, which was what Paul wanted, but still covered him enough so that he didn't feel completely exposed. After hearing a few calls such as "Yeah, baby!" or "Shake that ass!", he grabbed the pole with both hands and moved to grind his hips up against it, swivelling his hips in time to the music.

He lifted his right leg and wrapped it round the pole, before lifting his other foot off the ground and swinging around it slowly. He kept that leg up as he swayed his hips, spotting Sean for the millionth time in the audience. He focused all his attention on him, giving that 'I'm totally undressing you with my eyes and this is all for you' look, the look that many men fell for every time he danced. However, this was the only time when the smirk that appeared on the target's face made Kendall's heart hammer in his chest.

He managed to turn his attention back to the entire audience, realising now he'd be finished soon and it was money-collecting time. Holding onto the pole, Kendall bent down and stretched his right leg out, happy to see dollar bills and larger bills being stuffed into the little rips in the stockings instantly. He withdrew his leg and straightened up, letting go of the pole and strutting down off the stage, staying there in that crowd of men, grinding his hips up against some of them, also giving them a little peck on the cheek when they stuffed money into his garter.

The song began to end and turned back to that pop rock combination they'd been previously playing. Kendall turned around and went back up to the stage, hearing disappointed groans behind him and turning around to see more men holding out cash, other bills having been tossed onto the stage. Ke picked up the discarded money first, stuffing it into the rips in one of his stockings before moving forward and letting the men with more money stuff it into his garter, before backing away from them so he could get his clothes and leave the stage.

Kendall deliberately turned his back to them when he bent down to pick up his shirt, hearing a few more cheers behind him and smiled to himself. He straightened up, turning around to see a man at the front holding up the shorts that had previously been tossed away. Kendall walked towards him, bending down until their faces were almost level. When the man just smirked and made no move to hand him his clothes, Kendall leaned forward a little and licked a long line along the man's jaw. He gasped, and Kendall quickly snatched his shorts, proven right for assuming his grip would've loosened. He gave the dumbfounded client a little wink, before straightening up again. He gave a little wave with his fingers before walking back behind the curtain and leaving the stage.

Once he was back there and out of sight, he was picking all the folded cash bills out of his garter and stockings, gathering it all in one hand and noting how bulky it was. Paul appeared in front of him, holding his hand out. Kendall sighed and gave him all his earnings, unable to help feeling a little cheated. "You did really well," Paul said approvingly. "You'll get a ten percent cut at the end of the week, ok?"

Kendall just nodded. He flinched when he felt Paul give him a squeeze and a slap on the ass before walking away and throwing over his shoulder, "Get dressed, you're serving drinks."

Kendall glared after him as he pulled his shirt back on. _I hate you_ , he thought furiously, wishing he could storm after that creep and tell him exactly what he thought of him. _Asshole_. He buttoned his shirt up until a few buttons revealing his chest were left open. Then he pulled on the shorts and tugged the suspenders up over his shoulder. He walked down the hallway and grabbed a pair of leather boots from the dressing room, before he made his way back to the club.

One or two of the men eyed him up whenever he walked past them, but other than that he wasn't noticed anymore than the other strippers serving drinks and offering dances. He was handing two men their cocktail drinks, walking back away from them, when he felt his back collide with someone.

"Shit, I'm sorry—oh." Kendall smiled in greeting. "Um, hi."

"Hey," Sean greeted, smiling down at him. "You were hot up there."

"Um . . . thanks," Kendall replied, oddly flattered.

"I never got close to the front," Sea continued, reaching into his pocket and holding out a twenty dollar bill. "So I couldn't give this to you."

"Thank you." Kendall smiled and lifted his leg a little. "Go on, then."

Sean smirked, tucking the money into a rip in the stockings.

Kendall bit his lip, wondering what to say next. He settled with, "You want a drink, or anything?"

"Mmm, not tonight. I was gonna ask you something else, though."

"Oh." Kendall was a little confused. "Well, what is it?"

"Do you wanna come out for a walk with me?" Sean asked with a confident smile. "Unless you're still busy."

"No, I'm not," Kendall replied quickly. Then stuttering slightly, he continued with, "I-I mean, yeah, I'll come. I just need to get a jacket or something, bet it's cold outside . . ."

"You can take mine," Sean offered with a grin, picking up the black smart coat and handing it over.

Kendall took it, suddenly a little overcome with shyness. "Thank you." He pulled it on and buttoned it up. It covered him up, just about. When he moved it rode up a little and his legs were still completely exposed, but it would do. "Ok, let's go."

They left the club and headed down the street, not really going anywhere in particular. But Kendall liked it that way, just walking along with the feeling of Sean's body occasionally brushing against his. They passed a good few people, some giving Kendall strange looks.

"Hey, nice legs," one man commented as he passed, aiming a slap at Kendall's ass. Sean immediately had a protective arm wrapped around the blonde's shoulders, pulling him close and throwing the stranger a death glare as he sped up his walking space, pulling Kendall along with him. Kendall couldn't stop himself from blushing red at that, trying to hide his smile.

They kept walking for a little while, along slightly quieter streets. Then Kendall was surprised when Sean stopped them by a black railing gate, running around what Kendall guessed was a huge park, full of green trees, grass and little paved pathways. "Why are we here?"

"Because, it's a cool place I wanna show you," Sean replied breezily. "And it's closed, so there won't be anybody there."

"Wouldn't we get caught, though?" Kendall couldn't help asking. He worried that Sean might think he was uptight or something, but he still wanted to know.

"Relax, people come in here all the time," Sean said with a grin. "I said we were going for a walk, and we will. It's peaceful."

"Um . . ." Kendall bit his lip, thinking it over. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Great. I'll help you over the gate."

Kendall yelped in surprise when he felt two hands on his waist, lifting him up with ease. Kendall lifted his legs up over the gate, and then he was being placed on the ground. "You're strong," Kendall couldn't help commenting, turning around to watch Sean hop over the park gate with ease.

"Thanks," Sean replied with a wink, straightening up in front of Kendall. "Now, let's have this peaceful walk of ours."

Kendall and Sean headed off down one of the paved paths, Sean with his arm wrapped around Kendall again. They made small talk as they walked, Kendall finding he really did like the peace and quiet of the park very relaxing. They eventually found a bench and sat down side by side, Kendall absent-mindedly pulling Sean's coat a little tighter around him.

"You're not cold, are you?" Sean asked, looking concerned. Then he rested a hand on Kendall's naked thigh, making the blonde jump. "Your legs are." He chuckled. "We can't have that, can we?" He sat closer to Kendall, before lifting the leg closest to him and running his hands up and down his thigh to try and warm the skin up. Kendall couldn't help laughing at the strange feeling, though it sent strange little shivers up his spine.

"Stop it," Kendall giggled, as Sean ran his hands up and down Kendall's other leg. "It tickles."

"Hey, it's for your well-being," Sean chuckled, rubbing Kendall's thigh gently. "The dude was right, you do have nice legs. And we can't have them freezing solid and falling off, can we?"

"That won't happen!" Kendall protested, though he was laughing hysterically by now. And his legs did feel a bit warmer. "Thanks for the thoughtfulness."

"Is that a word?"

"I think so."

"Oh, you _think_ so?"

"Alright, I _know_ so."

"I see." Sean was taking on a slightly mocking tone, an arm slung over the back of the bench where Kendall was sitting. "So, you know big words, you can take your clothes off and dance around a pole at the same time, and you're not bad with a lap dance either. What else can you do?"

"Hmm, well I have this trick a friend of mine taught me," Kendall said with a grin. "Want me to show you?"

Sean chuckled. "Go on, then."

"Close your eyes," Kendall said softly, a playful smirk on his face.

Sean did, a smile on his own face. "Why do my eyes have to be closed?"

"It's my way of doing it, don't question me." Kendall took a deep breath, kneeling on the bench beside Sean, forcing himself to hold on the laughter. "Ok. Now, I want you to become aware of everything you're feeling right now, in your body. And in your mind, all your wildest fantasies, coming true at once. Just picture it all, visualise it, hear it, _taste_ it . . ."

Sean chuckled, but kept his eyes shut.

"Can you feel it?" Kendall whispered against Sean's ear, keeping that sexy tone in his voice as he ran his left hand down the man's chest. The other hand, he carefully moved towards the pocket of Sean's jeans.

"Mmm, yeah."

"Does it feel good?"

"Uh huh."

"Hmm . . ." Kendall pulled away from him, standing up. "Ok, open your eyes."

Sean did, smiling up at Kendall. "So, what was that supposed to be?" he asked with a smirk.

"Well, all that stuff with closing your eyes and me telling you about all your wildest fantasies . . . I just made that up, it's like a seduction-distraction thing I've mastered. The real trick, was this." And he held up Sean's cellphone with a smile on his face.

". . . what?" Sean's hand slammed down on his pocket, before he looked up at Kendall's in disbelief. "I didn't even feel that!"

"Well, that's the trick. Now I'm a winner and you have no phone," Kendall replied with a wink.

"Oh yeah?" Sean stood up, a playful smile on his face as he looked down at Kendall. "What if I can catch the naughty little pickpocket? Would that make me a winner?"

Kendall was moving before Sean did, turning around and sprinting away. "Stop, thief!" Sean mock-yelled after him, to which Kendall called over his shoulder, "You'll never take me alive!"

It was only as Kendall was running in and out between the trees and Sean somehow managed to cut a corner that he was caught. He squealed as he felt Sean make a grab at him, leaping forward and running around another tree.

"No!" Kendall gasped out, laughing hysterically as Sean caught him again around the waist, bucking his hips and trying to jump away.

"Face it, I win," Sean replied with a laugh, but he let go of Kendall anyway, the blonde turning around to face him. They were both a little breathless with laughter, smiling at each other.

Then Sean did something completely unexpected; he bent his head down and kissed Kendall gently but quickly, Kendall letting out a faint gasp of surprise. "Sean . . ." he murmured as they pulled apart.

"Yes?" Sean said slowly, looking slightly nervous for the first time ever since Kendall had met him.

"I . . ." Kendall's eyes were on the grass by their feet. Then he looked up. "Kiss me again," he finished softly.

Sean grinned down at him, then their lips were touching again, Sean's hands slowly moving to encircle Kendall's waist. Kendall's eyes drifted shut as his hands found Sean's shoulders, their lips moving together breathlessly as they came close together. Kendall felt Sean's tongue running along his lip and chose to let him in, opening his mouth a fraction as Sean's arms tightened around him. Kendall couldn't help letting out a faint whimper when he felt Sean's tongue pressing off every sensitive spot in his mouth. Eventually Kendall found he had to take a breath, so he pulled back reluctantly, feeling his cheeks darken.

"Um . . . can I have my phone back?" Sean asked eventually.

Kendall nodded, smiling sweetly up at him. However, instead of handing it to him, he moved the hand clutching the phone to Sean's back, sliding down lower and lower. He felt Sean's breath puff out against his lips with their bodies still pressed up close together, as Kendall neatly tucked the phone into the back pocket of Sean's jeans. He pulled away slightly, smiling up at Sean, who grinned back down at him. "What now?"

Sean looked thoughtful for a minute, then he smiled. "I'll show you where the pond is, I think you'll like it."

"Ok." Kendall reached out slowly and gently took Sean's hand in his own, the brunette lacing their fingers together it's a grin. "Lead the way."

Sean did, and they walked along the path together, holding hands and swinging them lightly back and forth.

The pond was surrounded by another small railing, and Kendall guessed one of its main uses was to stop little kids from falling in. But it was nice, really nice. Kendall was happy he was here and not back at the club. Right about now Paul would probably be bugging him for a blow job or a quick fuck, or something that Kendall wanted to shudder in disgust about.

"This is really cool," Kendall sighed, leaning with his elbows on the railing, his body leaning towards Sean's just a little. He smiled when Sean leaned against him too, wrapping a casual arm around him.

"You were right about this place," Kendall couldn't help saying with a grin. "It's really great."

"Well, I'm right about a lot of things." There was a brief pause. "So, you've never even been here before?" Sean asked incredulously. "It's not that far from where you live or anything."

"Honestly, I'm not even sure where we are," Kendall confessed, turning to look up at Sean. "This city is still unfamiliar to me."

"What, you're not from LA?"

"I'm not even from California," Kendall replied with a sigh. "You're gonna have to walk me back, you know. I'll have no idea where I'm going."

"Well . . ." Sean leaned a little closer to him. "You don't have to go."

"No?"

"We could find somewhere to sleep. Like, a hotel or something."

"Oh." Kendall prayed he wasn't blushing again; he wasn't stupid, and knew exactly what Sean was suggesting here. "Yeah, that's a better idea."

Sean's face broke into a smile that made Kendall's heart flutter a little embarrassingly. "Great. You wanna go find one, then?"

So they did. They hopped back over the park gate and found a small hotel that looked cheap enough not too far away. As they neared the front desk, Kendall's heart began to pound a little faster. But he managed to keep his cool. Sort of.

"We'll take a room for two," Sean said with a smile, leaning over the front desk. As the receptionist went to get a room, Sean wrapped a casual arm around Kendall, letting it slide down to the small of his back. Kendall turned to glance up at him for under his lashes, smiling a little shyly. The man came back over and handed them a numbered key, and in return Sean handed over his credit card. As the payment was handled, the hand on Kendall's back moved down to his ass, pinching it lightly and making Kendall jump. Sean chuckled under his breath as he took his credit card back, steering Kendall around with a hand back on the small of his back as he lead him towards the elevator.

The ride up to their floor in the dimly lit elevator was spent with Kendall pressed up against the wall, their bodies flush together as their tongues clashed together again, their hips brushing together, creating almost unbearable friction between them. When the doors opened, Kendall squeaked in surprise to feel himself being lifted from the floor, tossed over Sean's shoulder as if he weighed nothing. Sean carried him down the hallway in a fireman's lift, walking at the fastest pace he could. "Why are you carrying me?" Kendall demanded jokingly, hand on Sean's back as he watched Sean's feet moving over the carpet.

"Because I can, and it speeds things up," Sean replied nonchalantly, stopping on front of the right room, using one hand to unlock the door and the other to take hold of Kendall and place him back on his feet. The door clicked open and they both hurried inside, shutting the door behind them. Sean found a switch on the wall that lit a small light over on the wall next to the bedside locker, so the room was dimly lit.

The room was small enough and a little tacky, but Kendall couldn't care less as Sean kissed him again, pressing him up against the wall by the door. Kendall opened his mouth quickly and their tongues came out to battle each other. Sean's hands moved down and grasped Kendall's ass, the blonde gasping as Sean hoisted his leg up around his waist. Kendall quickly got the idea and pressed himself back against the wall, pulling Sean flush against him as he lifted his other leg. Sean cupped his ass and carried him across the room, stumbling back and landing on the soft sheets, Kendall now seated in his lap with his legs still wrapped around him.

Sean moved his hands behind his back with slight difficulty and tugged one of Kendall's boots off, tossing it onto the floor. Kendall understood where he was going and reached down himself, taking his other boot off before tugging down both his stockings, pulling them off his feet and throwing them away. Their lips still attached, Sean lifted Kendall up by the waist and set him down on the bed, lifting his left leg over his shoulder and leaning his head down. Kendall couldn't help letting out a giggle as Sean gently blew against his thigh, right above the garter. "May as well do it right," the brunette murmured, smirking at Kendall before taking hold of the garter between his teeth and tugging it upwards towards Kendall's knee, pausing every now and again to press open mouthed kisses to his leg. Kendall gave a happy sigh at the feeling, keeping himself upright with the palms of his hands pressed into the bed as Sean lifted his leg off his shoulder, tugging the garter completely off with his teeth, flinging it away.

Kendall was back on his lap in an instant, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and pulling him in for a bruising kiss. "Why do you still have all your clothes on?" he breathed against Sean's lips, mouth curving into a smile when he felt Sean's tongue dart out and lick at his lip.

"Sorry," Sean chuckled, pulling his shoes and socks off before lifting one of Kendall's hands and placing it on his chest, over the buttons of his shirt. "Why don't you fix that?"

Kendall grinned, kissing Sean again as he blindly unbuttoned the man's shirt, shoving it off his shoulders and running his hands all over Sean's toned chest and stomach, pressing against the hard muscle with the tips of his fingers. "Mmm, you're hot," Kendall murmured, moaning as he felt Sean pressing against the growing bulge in his shorts. Just Sean's kisses and simple touches were enough to arouse him.

"You're hotter," Sean growled, tugging his jacket off Kendall and throwing it away somewhere in the room, before his fingers darted to the suspenders on Kendall's shoulders and yanked them down.

"Try not to rip anything," Kendall told him firmly, arms wrapped around Sean's neck. "It'll come out of my low wages."

"Got it," Sean replied, nodding his head before kissing Kendall again.

Sean pulled Kendall off the bed by his hips, Kendall feeling his back come in contact with a hard chest. "What are you doing?" Kendall giggled, slightly bemused.

"Taking your pants off, what does it look like?" Sean murmured, smirking against the back of Kendall's neck as his hands moved to the blonde's waist, taking hold of the black shorts and bending down a little behind Kendall.

Kendall moaned and whimpered softly as he felt Sean pressing soft kisses to the back of his thighs as he tugged his shorts down his legs. Kendall stepped out of them quickly, gasping when he felt a hand under his thong immediately, tugging that down too. Once he was rid of that, Sean's hands were under his shirt, running all over his body before one came down to grab his dick, pumping it slowly to full erectness. Kendall moaned loudly, throwing his head back against Sean's shoulder, unable to stop himself from grinding his ass back against Sean's crotch. Sean moaned loudly, grinding forward against him, Kendall feeling the denim scraping against his ass a little painfully.

"Take them off," he gasped out as Sean stroked him a little harder.

He heard the sound of a zipper sliding down, and the movement as Sean slid his jeans off and kicked them away. Then his hands were on Kendall again, rubbing at his hips and sides underneath his shirt, breathing hard against the back of Kendall's neck, leaving little kisses and nips here and there. Then Kendall, because he was supposed to be a prostitute or stripper or whatever, decided to tease Sean a little, bending over a little and sticking his ass out to grind back against Sean again. Sean groaned, holding onto Kendall tightly as one of his hands moved to Kendall's back and kept him in that position. Kendall bit his lip and stopped his movements, inching forward a little and moving his own hand to his back, running it down and over his ass, hearing Sean's breath catch in his throat. Next thing he knew, Sean's hands had left his body and Kendall turned around to see the man palming himself through his tight boxer briefs, mouth hanging open in pleasure.

"You're way too sexy for your own good," he growled down at Kendall, increasing the pressure of his hand. Kendall couldn't help laughing, thinking he was anything but sexy. He moved and took hold of Sean's hand, pulling it away.

"Let me," Kendall said, turning Sean around and pushing him towards the bed, the brunette stumbling backwards and pulling his briefs off to reveal his massive cock before sitting back on the bed. Kendall walked towards him and unbuttoned his shirt at the same time. He took it off completely under Sean's eager gaze and dropped it on the floor as he climbed back onto the bed, trying to conceal the slight nerves he was feeling. But he'd done this to Paul, even if it was against his will. Slowly he bent his head down and wrapped his lips around the tip of Sean's cock, beginning to suck on it slowly. Sean gave a gasp of pleasure, head thrown back. "Fuck, _Kendall_ . . ."

Kendall would've smiled if his mouth wasn't otherwise engaged. He took Sean's cock in deeper until it brushed off the back of his throat, gagging a little but not stopping as he sucked a little harder, tongue moving out and rubbing all over the head. Sean was moaning Kendall's name and a bunch of other things Kendall didn't recognise, but the fact that he was giving Sean this pleasure sent little shivers down his spine. He was surprised and confused when he felt a hand running through his hair and gently pulling him off.

"Don't wanna come too soon," Sean murmured, yanking Kendall up by the shoulders and pulling him in for another kiss. Kendall opened his mouth immediately and let Sean's tongue wander in, the taller man's hands wandering too as one made its way around to Kendall's chest and pinched one of his nipples. Kendall moaned and threw his head back from the kiss. "Ngh, Sean . . ."

Sean's response was to lean his head down and lick at the neglected nipple, his free hand wrapped around Kendall tightly as the blonde moaned at the feeling. He couldn't believe how aroused he was getting from this, how amazing it felt. "Oh God, Sean," Kendall whimpered out as Sean dropped his hand, his mouth moving up to Kendall's shoulders to kiss and bite at the pale skin.

"God, I wanna fuck you," Sean growled, running his hands along Kendall's sides, gripping his hips.

"Mmm, ok," Kendall gasped out as he felt Sean biting his neck. Sean sat up a little, giving the blonde room to move. Kendall lay back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling for a moment or two. He couldn't help it; this would be his first time ever having consensual sex. It was almost like losing his virginity again; he couldn't help feeling nervous as he slowly spread his legs apart.

"I don't have any lubricant or anything," Sean said, running a hand down over Kendall's hole and making him shudder.

"Ugh, it's ok," Kendall said breathlessly, unable to think straight with that hand rubbing at him so sensually, "Just use spit or something."

"A little eager, aren't you?" Sean chuckled, holding out his hand towards Kendall's mouth. Kendall opened up and took the fingers in, sucking them and swirling his tongue around. He knew it wasn't as good as lube, so he figured he should probably get them as wet as possible. When he finished, he released them with a little 'pop' and watched slightly nervously as Sean moved his hand down towards his entrance.

He spread his legs a little wider when he felt Sean's finger teasing at his hole, before it slowly pushed inside. Kendall winced at the slight discomfort, but it didn't hurt like he'd expected it to, the way it had with Paul. And that time when he was little—

Kendall gasped, suddenly feeling unbelievable pleasure course through his body. He guessed Sean had probably found that sweet spot inside of him, and the taller man seemed to realise this, because he smirked and Kendall felt another finger slide inside. He felt them scissoring and stretching him before jamming up against his prostate, causing him to moan again as he pushed his hips down on Sean's fingers. "You like that, do you?" Sean asked in a husky voice, thrusting the fingers in and out slowly and teasingly. "You ready for the full thing, baby?"

"Mmm, fuck yes," Kendall groaned as the fingers pressed into that special bundle of nerves inside him again. He did his best to ignore that he was suddenly starting to feel very nervous as Sean pulled his fingers out and spat on his hand, rubbing the saliva all over his huge erection, before moving forward to rub the tip off Kendall's entrance. Kendall took a deep breath when he felt Sean push inside, pushing in until he was balls deep inside. It hurt, of course it did, but it wasn't agonising, it wasn't that screaming-and-sobbing pain like before. It was more uncomfortable than anything.

"Can I move?" Sean asked, jarring Kendall's attention back to him. Kendall nodded, moaning as Sean pulled to before sinking back in, the brunette giving out his own little gasps of pleasure at the feeling of being inside him. "Fuck, you're so tight," he groaned, pulling out and thrusting with a little more speed. "So hot . . ."

Kendall felt his prostate being pushed against again and moaned the other man's name loudly, head thrown back against the pillows as his hands gripped Sean's shoulders. "God, Sean, don't go so slowly," he found himself saying impatiently, crying out in pleasure when Sean's pace and force picked up, the pleasure increasing dramatically. He moved his legs up around Sean's waist, pulling him in deeper as he slammed back in.

Sean was gripping Kendall's hips tightly in his hands, groaning as he slammed in and out of Kendall as fast as he could, feeling Kendall's walls contracting around him over and over. Kendall's fingernails dragged down Sean's back when he felt one really hard thrust that caused his body to be shoved back a little, even is he hardly noticed it.

"S-Sean!" Kendall stuttered out, fingernails digging into the older man's back. "Ugh— _harder!_ "

Sean was only to happy to comply, pounding in and out of him with a little more force, making Kendall's head snap back, thumping a little off the headboard. Kendall didn't even notice as he held onto Sean tighter, his voice becoming shaky as he felt himself getting closer to the edge. "Sean," he gasped. "I-I'm close . . ."

"Mmm, cum for me, baby," Sean grunted, giving Kendall one particularly hard thrust that sent him over the edge.

Kendall heard himself screaming Sean's name out hoarsely, his seed spurting out over the both their stomachs, realising he hadn't even needed to be touched once. His head dropped onto the pillow as he panted, trying to get his breath back. He couldn't believe how amazing that was. Nothing like he'd ever felt before in his life. He wanted to do it again, even though he was exhausted now. He felt the mattress dip as Sean moved to lie down next to him, panting a little.

"So . . . is there a fee for that?" Sean asked eventually.

Kendall shook his head. "Nope. I'm not working right now, am I? If I was I wouldn't still be lying here."

"Cool." Sean scooted over, leaning over Kendall. "I meant what I said about sleeping here, you know. So don't even think about ditching me."

"I wasn't even considering it," Kendall said with a smile. Sean grinned at him and wrapped an arm around him, pulling him closer and into his chest.

"Good," Sean replied with a grin. There was a pause, soon filled by the sound of Kendall giving a muffled yawn. "You tired?"

"Yeah," Kendall murmured, shutting his eyes. "Exhausted, actually. Imma go sleep now . . ."

"Ok," Sean replied with a smile, reaching for the switch by the bed to turn the light off. Then he picked up the sleeping blonde in his arms with ease, before taking hold of the bed sheets and pulling them back and over their bodies, lying back down again. He smiled sleepily at Kendall for another moment, before he shut his eyes and he was asleep too.

 

* * *

Kendall woke up to see a pair of smouldering dark eyes staring down at him. He shifted slightly against Sean's chest, rolling a little onto his back. "Were you watching me sleep?"

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Nope, I was just asking."

"Then yes, I was."

Kendall smiled at him, before pulling away a little and sitting up, leaning against the headboard. Sean sat up with him, a smile on his own face. "So, last night was good for you?"

Kendall nodded, unable to help giggling a little. "Uh huh. It was awesome."

"Mmm, well I think the feeling's mutual on this one. I mean, it was like, exceptional."

"Why, is sleeping with strippers a common occurrence for you?"

Sean nodded, a playful smile on his face. "Oh yeah, every night. All blonde, too. Though they all look so alike they pretty much meld into one in my mind—"

Kendall laughed, grabbing a pillow and hitting Sean on the head with it. "Don't be a jerk."

"But I am a jerk, it's in my personality," Sean joked, taking another pillow and aiming it at Kendall's head. Kendall used his own pillow as a shield, before pushing it forward and shoving Sean down onto his back. He heard muffled laughter under the pillow he was covering the taller man's face with.

Sean's hand came up and pushed Kendall off, before diving on top of him. "Alright, hold still—"

Kendall burst into hysterical laughter as Sean started tickling his sides, kicking at him and squealing. "N-no, stop it!" Kendall gasped out, then his heart jumped when he felt the bed disappear from beneath and he fell out onto the floor, Sean falling down on top of him. Their legs were tangled up in the bed sheets, the sheets now crumpled on the floor with them.

Sean was chuckling at Kendall's breathless expression. "You're cute."

Suddenly their lips were crashing together again, Kendall straightening up to lean on his elbows as one hand moved up to the back of Sean's neck. His mouth opened and Sean's tongue wandered in, touching every spot it had the night before as his hands moved to Kendall's hips, the blonde lifting his legs to fold at either side of his waist. Kendall could feel Sean's growing erection pressing against his inner thigh, and pulled back from the kiss, murmuring, "Up for morning sex?" as Sean started kissing his neck.

Sean chuckled, giving the skin of Kendall's collarbone a lick and a nip, "Definitely."

When Kendall got home, he spent the afternoon with some of the others in the house. He worked again that night, dancing around on stage when Sean appeared, watching him with a smile. Kendall just had to play it cool and try not to blush. And the next morning up until early afternoon was spent alone in his room, reading a book though his mind wouldn't stop wandering back to Sean, and he blushed red without fail every time this happened. He couldn't explain the way he felt right now, it was just so confusing to him . . .

"Hey, blondie."

Kendall looked up to see Paul standing at the door of the room. "You're leaving," the man said bluntly. "You have twenty minutes to pack up all your stuff. Then I want you out by the front door."

"Why?" Kendall asked worriedly, but Paul had already left the room. Kendall decided he shouldn't make his pimp angry and hurried over to the closet, opening it and taking out his duffel bag, before beginning to pack his clothes into it. When everything in the house that he owned was zipped up into the bag, he grabbed his jacket and made his way out into the hallway.

As he was passing one of the rooms, he overheard Paul's laughing voice, "Fifteen hundred bucks for him! Well, yeah, of course I exaggerated his value as a prostitute, the kid's a dancer. Thing is, Sean doesn't go for strippers."

Kendall stopped for a second, thinking hard. He felt for sure that Paul was talking on the phone about him. So, had he sold him? To Sean? Who the heck was Sean? For a second, Kendall's mind flashed back to the handsome dark-haired man from the club and that hotel room, but then the image was quickly replaced by a silhouette, similar to Paul, only worse. A lot worse.

He was contemplating just how bad this new pimp would be when he arrived at the front door, only to see Sean standing there. The Sean he knew. His heart soared at the sight of him, and he was dismayed to find himself blushing furiously when those dark eyes locked with his. "Hey, Kendall," Sean said, smiling. "You look happy to see me."

"I am. I mean, I . . ." Kendall bit his lip before saying, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for you." Sean grinned at him. "You're coming to work for me now."

"Oh!" Kendall blushed again, trying to hide his smile. "Ok. I didn't know you were a pimp."

"Does it bother you?"

"No, of course not!" Kendall replied quickly.

Sean chuckled at his bright red cheeks. "I've just got to talk to Paul first, and then we'll go."

Kendall nodded, unable to think of anything to say. They were standing there slightly awkwardly for a minute or two, and then Paul appeared in the hallway, all smiles. "Kendall, baby! You ready to go?"

Kendall nodded, smiling a little shyly as Paul and Sean talked some business thing over in low voices, before Sean led Kendall out to his car, taking his bag and leaving it in the trunk, before opening the passenger seat door and letting Kendall slide in. As soon as Sean had the door shut and was starting the engine, Kendall blurted out, "He's such a jerk, that guy. I'm really glad you got me out of there. I owe you."

Sean shrugged. "Well, usually the standard for a hooker bought off another pimp would be to work for thirty months. That's what you owe."

"Oh." Kendall thought about it for a second. "So, working for you for two years and a half?"

"Yup. It'll fly, you'll see. Now," Sean gave Kendall a brief glance as he continued to drive. "I've got four other prostitutes working for me; Matt, Eric, Adam and Derek. All cool guys, they won't give you any trouble. I know Paul's place was mixed, but I only use guys. You'll be rooming with Matt and Eric since they have more space." Sean gave him a quick smile. "I can't show any favouritism by having you sleep somewhere else, if you know what I mean."

Kendall nodded, blushing again. Sean laughed. "What?" Kendall asked slowly.

"You were nothing like this in the club. You're hardly saying a word—your daytime self is pretty different to what I expected."

"Oh. Sorry . . ."

"Why are you sorry? It's kind of cute, the way you're so shy now."

"Oh." Kendall mentally kicked himself; was that all he could say? Did he even know any other letters besides O? Why was he being so stupid?

They pulled up outside a white two-storey house, reversing into the driveway. Sean got out of the car, walking back to the trunk to get Kendall's bag. Kendall just stared out other car window at the neighbourhood. It seemed nice enough. Across the street he could see a woman watering flowers with a terrier lying on the grass next to her. His head snapped up when he heard the car door opening. Sean held out his hand and Kendall took it with a smile, getting out of the car. "Thanks."

Sean just winked at him, shutting the car door before leading him up to the front door of the house and unlocking it, walking inside. The hallway was wide enough,and Kendall could hear laughter coming from an open door on the right. Sean led him in, Kendall following a little nervously as he glanced through the doorway at what was obviously the living room. There were four guys sitting on the two couches, watching TV. There was a redhead, a blonde, a guy with dark hair like Sean and the one closest to him, lanky with shaggy reddish brown hair. They all looked up at the sound of them walking in. "Hey, Sean," the redhead greeted. "Who've you got there?"

Kendall suddenly found the floor very interesting to stare at.

"He's a new prostitute," Sean replied. "Came from Paul White. Just help him settle in, yeah?" Sean turned to look at Kendall, tilting his chin up so the blonde would look him in the eye. "Ok, I've gotta go out and take care of some things, so I'm gonna leave you to settle in. See you later." Sean pressed a quick kiss to the side of Kendall's head and handed him his bag, before he was gone.

Kendall bit his lip nervously, finally looking up at the four guys watching him. "Um, hi," he said slowly. "I'm Kendall."

"Hi," the tallest with shaggy reddish hair said, quickly stepping forward with a smile and shaking his hand. "I'm Matt." He turned and pointed at each of the other three in turn, from the other blonde, to the redhead, to the one with dark hair to his shoulders, "They're Eric, Adam and Derek."

"So," Eric said with a smirk on his face, "You're Sean's new bitch?"

Kendall, stricken, didn't know what to say. "Um, I-I don't know—"

"Relax, kid, I'm just messing with you. It's what I do," Eric cut in with a laugh, taking Kendall by the arm and steering him away from the living room. "Come on, we'll take you to your room. You're obviously with us, Adam and Derek's room is only big enough for two, our room was meant to be an office or something, there used to be four of us in there—"

"What happened to the other two?" Kendall couldn't help asking.

"Oh, nothing major. One of them was only here for a couple of months and then he left; he only came here because he needed money for a medical bill. Then the other got kicked out because he was spending all his earnings on drugs before he got home."

"Oh." Kendall wasn't really sure what else to say to that. They walked into a cosy but spacious bedroom, with two beds at opposite walls. "Um . . . which can I have?"

"One of those two," Eric said, pointing to the two by the wall to the right of the door. "Take your pick. And that closet over there, all yours. The other two used to share it."

Kendall dropped his stuff on the bed closest to the door and sat down on it. "Thanks."

"You want anything else?" Matt asked, smiling down at him.

"Um, no, not really." He bit his lip. "Though I probably stink a bit, I wouldn't mind using the shower."

Eric chuckled. "I like you, blondie. We can be sexy blondes together." He glanced out the door, then back at Kendall. "Thing is, I think Adam wants the shower now. You could always unpack while you wait for it."

"Yeah, I'll do that. Thanks."

Eric winked at him and Matt waved, then they left. So Kendall started unpack his clothes and other possessions, packing them all neatly away into the closet. He left the empty duffel bag in there too, and sat back down on the bed, looking around the room again. This would take some getting used to.

Only ten minutes later, the bedroom door opened again. "Hey," Eric greeted with a grin. There was a large blue towel in his hand, which he flung at Kendall. "The shower's free now, if you're interested. Bathroom's next door."

"Thank you," Kendall replied with a smile. He got up and grabbed what he needed from the closet, before walking out to the hallway and into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind him.

Kendall wondered what it would be like living here, working for Sean. Obviously he wasn't going to be dancing anymore, there was no more hiding on a stage, holding onto a metal pole. He had to go out into the streets and give people sex. He wasn't exactly looking forward to it, but he could handle it. He could, and he would.

He carefully climbed out of the shower, grabbing the towel and beginning to dry himself off. When his body was dry he began to pull his clothes back on, before picking up his comb and walking to the slightly steamed up mirror, glancing at the wet, tangled blonde mop he called his hair.

Kendall combed his hair thoroughly, humming in content to himself. He spotted a hair dryer on the shelf and took hold of it, switching it on and drying his hair, maybe fluffing it up just a little. It looked more attractive that way.

"I'm back!"

Kendall heard the voice and his heart skipped a beat. He quickly turned back to the mirror, combing through his hair again to make sure it was ok. Then he straightened up and left the bathroom, walking out into the hallway. He spotted Sean walking into the room at the end of the hallway, leaving the door hanging open. Kendall took a deep breath, and chose to be confident. Screw shyness.

"Hi," Kendall greeted, walking into what he realised was the kitchen. "Miss me?"

Sean turned around to grin at him. "Hey." He beckoned him over, taking hold of Kendall by the chin and pulling him in for a kiss when he walked over. "And yes, I did miss you. Quite a lot."

Kendall grinned, "Good, because I missed you too," and pulled him in for another kiss, arms around his neck as he stood up on the balls off his feet.

Sean gave a happy sigh into the kiss, hands gripping Kendall's hips as he lifted him up and sat him on the kitchen counter, pushing up against him as he kissed him a little harder. Kendall giggled when he felt Sean's fingers tickling his sides, wrapping his legs around the taller man's waist as he held onto him tighter.

"Ahem. _Ahem!_ "

Sean and Kendall reluctantly pulled apart, turning to see Eric standing at the kitchen door. The blonde rolled his eyes at them, before walking over to the refrigerator and taking out a can of diet coke. "If you don't mind, I'd rather if you didn't have sex on the counter. We make food there. You know, food that we eat, with our mouths. Please keep it to a minimum, or take it somewhere else."

He left the room, and Sean sighed exasperatedly before taking Kendall's hands as the blonde hopped down off the counter. "I guess we should listen to him," Kendall said a little unenthusiastically.

"Mmm, yeah. For now." Sean placed an arm around Kendall's waist, kissing him tenderly. "Tomorrow you can go out with the others, ok? I bet you'll be hot."

Kendall smiled, resting his head against Sean's chest for a minute. He felt safe like this. He felt wanted. Maybe this wouldn't be half as bad as he first thought. Maybe he'd end up liking California.  
  



	5. Shadows Fill an Empty Heart

**  
4 YEARS AGO:**

Kendall was fifteen. A sophomore in high school. His first year had been awful; all these new people to avoid, all these new places to try and find his way around. He'd been quite happy remaining invisible, not wanting to speak to any of these students that he simply saw as threatening. But things were better this year. He had more confidence, or at least he didn't walk the hallways as if everyone he passed were an axe murderer.

It was Tuesday morning and Kendall was digging around in his locker, trying to tug his chemistry book out from under the rest of the stuff. He grunted in frustration, pulling it again. It finally gave way and he stumbled backwards, crashing straight into some unfortunate student behind him. He yelped and jumped away on impact, turning around, "I'm so sorry!"

"It's cool. I was coming over here anyway."

"You . . . oh." Kendall frowned up at who he'd bumped into, puzzled. It was Jett Stetson, a junior.

"Hey," Jett greeted with a cocky smile. "You're Kendall, right?"

"Um, yeah. That's me," Kendall replied shyly. "H-hi."

Jett chuckled. "You're in Rosie Bennett's art class, aren't you? Her brother's on the football team with me." He gave another smile. "I heard you're a pretty good artist."

"Oh, um . . . not really," Kendall stuttered out, face turning red. "I just like painting, I'm not that good . . ."

Jett shrugged, still smirking. "Well, I've heard different. I think you're just modest." He cocked his head slightly, smirk widening. "You're kinda cute too."

"I am? I-I mean, thanks," Kendall stuttered, blushing again.

"Would you be interested in going on a date with me?"

"Huh?" Kendall's eyes widened. "Um . . . y-yeah, ok. Yes."

"Cool," Jett grinned. He reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out, handing to Kendall. "Why don't you give me your number, and I'll call you."

"Ok," Kendall replied slyly, smiling as he took the phone and typed his number in. He handed it back to Jett, who winked at him and said he'd call before walking away. Kendall stood there for a moment, seriously wondering what had just happened. Since when did Jett Stetson, high school king and captain of the football team, want to go out on a date with him?

Kendall turned back to his locker, closing it but just standing there for a second in confusion. "What was that?" came a peppy voice beside him.

Kendall jumped and turned to see Jenny standing there, looking excited. "Why was Jett talking to you?" Jenny asked eagerly, bouncing on her toes.

"He . . . just asked for my phone number," Kendall replied slowly, still unsure whether or not it was real.

Jenny squealed, clapping her hands. "Oh my god, you're so lucky! He's so hot, I wish he'd ask for my number!"

Kendall just laughed, turning and beginning the trek to chemistry, Jenny chattering happily by his side and tripping one of two teenagers as she went.

Jett called Kendall Friday night, offering him a date at the movie theatre the next evening. Kendall gladly accepted it, and told Jett his address when the older boy asked for it. So Saturday afternoon was spent eagerly waiting for eight, when Jett was going to come and pick him up.

When the doorbell rang he practically sprinted to the door, heart pounding nervously as he opened it. "H-hi."

"Hey," Jett grinned. "You look hot."

"Um, thanks," Kendall replied, cheeks immediately heating up. Not something he heard every day. He shut the front door behind him and followed Jett over to the car. "Nice car," he commented with a smile as Jett opened the passenger side door for him.

"Thanks," Jett replied with a grin, getting into the driver's seat and starting the engine. "Let's get going."

They drove to the theatre and walked into the right screen hand in hand, taking a seat at the back. The place was still pretty quiet as they settled down, leaning just slightly closer together.

"So, did you see the prequel to this?" Jett asked in an effort to make conversation.

"Um, nope. But I'm sure I've seen other movies with, that guy in it . . . Ashton Kutcher? Or whoever it is . . ."

"Do you even know what this movie's about?" Jett chuckled.

"I don't even—"

Kendall's sentence was cut off as Jett's lips slammed on his, the blonde gasping in surprise. But he started to kiss back, hand moving up to the back of Jett's neck as he leaned closer to him. Jett's lips moved against his a little harder, before Kendall felt his tongue probing at the tiny gap between his lips. Kendall, at first, was reluctant to let him in. But he did, opening his mouth a little and letting Jett's tongue wander in. This was the first time he'd ever kissed anyone, this was the first boyfriend he'd ever had.

But he went along with it.

Throughout the whole movie, Kendall and Jett kept ignoring it and focusing on each other, Kendall leaning into Jett as they kissed over and over. Kendall, somehow, began to feel more confident as it went on. This wasn't so bad, he could get used to this.

When the movie was over, the two walked out with an arm around each other, talking and laughing as they moved towards Jett's car. "What, so you've never had a boyfriend before?" Jett was asking incredulously as they drove off. "I know a few guys who'd date you."

"I've been asked, a couple of times," Kendall replied with a laugh. "I just didn't want to date any of them. I was shy, a lot."

"You're not much different now," Jett threw back at him with a chuckle. "I bet you're blushing right now."

"I'm not!" Kendall protested, but as he said it he felt his cheeks heating up. He sighed, defeated but unable to stop laughing.

They pulled up outside Kendall's house, both sighing in disappointment. "End of the road," Jett said with a shrug. "So, next week maybe we can do something else. More fun dating to get rid of those rosy cheeks of yours."

Kendall laughed, arms around Jett's neck as he kissed him goodbye. "Ok, I'm up for that. I'll see you in school."

"Yeah, see you," Jett murmured with a grin before kissing Kendall again.

When Kendall got inside the house, his cheeks were still bright red. He decided he liked having a boyfriend.

Kendall and Jett stayed together over the summer, seeing each other often but still spending a lot of time with their friends and away from each other. However, things started going downhill.

Kendall was over at Jett's house one night, the two lying on the older blonde's bed. Jett has his arms wrapped around Kendall, the two sharing little gentle kisses. Jett gave a contented little hum every now and again, and eventually one kiss went on longer than the others, Jett sticking his tongue right down Kendall's throat as his hands drifted lower, squeezing his boyfriend's ass.

At this, Kendall pulled back a little, finding it difficult to talk with the kisses Jett kept giving him, "Jett, what are you doing?"

Jett dived right back in to his mouth, ignoring his comment as he moved a little on top of him, cupping his ass again. Kendall pulled back again, breathless and slightly worried. "Jett—"

"Kendall, why don't we just do it?" Jett demanded, kissing Kendall's neck and licking at it. "We've been together since March, it's been forever."

"But, I'm not ready," Kendall protested weakly as Jett held onto him tighter, the younger blonde trying to pry his hands away from his ass.

"Come on, baby—"

"Jett, I don't want to," Kendall said more firmly, because he really suspected that if Jett tried to do that again he might actually scream. "I'm not ready, and you should accept that."

"Hey, don't be mad at me," Jett replied softly, pulling Kendall closer. "You're right, I should wait until you're ready. It's cool."

"Good," Kendall said softly, craning up to kiss Jett softly. "Glad you understand."

But it seemed that Jett didn't understand. Throughout the summer, this happened a good few times. Jett trying to pressure Kendall into having sex with him, and Kendall trying to show him that he truly wasn't ready for that big step. He tried to keep calm and be patient, but it was really starting to bother him. Jett had already managed to persuade him into giving him a handjob once or twice. How long would it be until Jett managed to make him do that one thing he really didn't want to do!

It was mid September in Kendall's junior year when it all went downhill. Kendall was walking down the school hallway towards Jett's locker and saw his boyfriend standing there with some of his friends from the football team.

"Still wouldn't let me go the whole way, the stupid bitch. Probably the most stubborn virgin I've ever had," Jett was saying to his friends, who laughed loudly.

I'm not a virgin. I was raped when I was little. It's why I'm a little scared to have sex. Then it almost happened again when I was twelve, but my dad saved me. Then he was murdered. Isn't that funny?

Kendall turned around and hurried around the corner before any of them could see him. He leaned against the wall, breathing deeply. School was almost over. He knew what he had to do, but he didn't know if he could do it. Tears were building up in his eyes as he slid down until he was sitting on the floor, legs tucked up as he rested his chin on his knees, hands over his eyes as if to push the ears back in. It somehow worked, just about.

The bell rang for the next class to start. Kendall sat at the back of the algebra room, shaking a little at the thought of breaking up with his boyfriend. But he had to, he had to . . .

"Hey, babe," Jett greeted when Kendall walked up to his locker at the end of the day, leaning down to kiss him. Kendall half-heartedly responded, just wanting to get away from him.

"So," Jett smirked when he pulled away. "I was thinking. My parents are working today, so maybe you could come over and we can—"

"No, I don't think so," Kendall replied sternly. He took a breath to calm himself. "Look, I . . . I want us to break up."

"What?" Jett stared at him. "Why?"

Kendall almost fell for the stricken look on the older boy's face. But he refused to weaken. "I heard what you and your friends were saying. What you said about me. Jett, I'm not going to be in a relationship with someone who only wants to have sex with me. I'm not that kind of person, and I'm not gonna deal with that."

"But, Kendall . . . look, I know it probably sounded bad, but I care about you—"

"No, you don't. You only care about my ass, and what you can do with it. I'm sorry, but we're done."

Kendall walked past him and down the hallway, hand moving up to tightly grip the strap of his backpack.

He strode out of school, lips trembling slightly. Everything Jett had ever said to him, all the sweet things he'd done. It was all a lie, it was all to get in his pants.

Why did he want him so badly? He wasn't attractive. It must've been some sick joke just to mess with him, just to hurt his feelings. Yes, that was all it was, all anyone ever wanted to do was hurt him, everyone was always against him, they always had been.

Kendall stormed through his front door, anger giving him new strength. He screamed furiously, kicking the coat rack over with a crash. Tears were blurring his vision as he stumbled into the kitchen, leaning on the table to stay upright. Did he not have the right to just enjoy his life even for a few months? Why was everything so difficult to go through? Was he too weak to take it?

Kendall sat at the kitchen table, head in his hands. And suddenly he knew. He knew that this was it. This was the end. He didn't want to go through anything anymore. Maybe he was too weak. Well, fine. Fuck life, fuck everything.

Tears slid down his face as he got shakily to his feet. However, approaching one of the kitchen drawers, he suddenly shrank back, stumbling and crashing his back off the wall. No, no blood. No. He couldn't bear it.

He looked around, almost frantically. Drown himself? No, he wouldn't manage that. Trying to hang himself would probably resort in some piece of furniture breaking; everything in this house was fragile now. Not just him.

The pills.

Kendall ran from the kitchen, leaping up the stairs, halfway up he had to stop, the crying making it difficult to breathe. He stopped for a moment to try and control the tears that were causing him to shake and hyperventilate just a little. Getting closer to the end just made him cry more, made him freak out more. He was scared, of course he was. But there was an odd sense of comfort lingering behind it that pushed him into the bathroom and straight to the medicine cabinet.

Kendall grabbed the bottle of pills, trembling and sobbing. He couldn't take this anymore. He didn't want to deal with any of this anymore. It was so hard, it was too hard . . .

He was swallowing the pills down before he knew it. He didn't know how many, but he hoped it was enough. He stumbled back into his bedroom, whimpering and crying. He was going to die. The thought actually brought him some relief. He wouldn't hurt anymore, nothing could hurt him. Kendall collapsed onto the bed, letting his eyes drift shut. Tears still leaked and streamed down his cheeks, and even as he started to lose consciousness they kept coming.

But nothing could hurt him.

_Nothing . . ._

Katie Knight walked into the house, shutting the door after her. Humming to herself, she walked into the kitchen, fishing a little bottle of lemonade from the fridge. "Kendall?" she called through the silent house. "Where are you?"

She looked in the living room, but he wasn't there. She sighed, smiling to herself. "Kendall, I know you're here somewhere, Mom said you were home. You've probably got your headphones on with your dumb goth music turned up so loud you can't hear me, right?"

No answer, like she expected. She rolled her eyes and laughed, heading towards the stairs and sipping her lemonade. She skipped up the stairs, determined to seek out her brother and ask him if he was gonna make anything to eat, or at least interact with her in a brotherly way. She stopped in front of his closed bedroom door. She knocked on it. "Kendall?" No answer. "Dumb emo bands," she muttered crossly. Then she raised her voice. "Ok, if you can hear me, you better not be naked because I'm coming in!"

She opened the door and walked in. And stopped, eyes wide.

Kendall was lying on the bed, curled up in a ball. There were dried tear tracks on his face, his mouth slightly open. Katie thought he was asleep for a second, but quickly realised that something was wrong. Very very wrong.

It became clear to her when she walked closer to the bed. Kendall was pale, too pale. So ghostly looking it really freaked her out. He was completely still. Then she saw the faint blue tinge to his lips and let out a whimper of fear, her drink clattering to the floor and spilling everywhere.

She grabbed her brother's shoulder and shook him frantically. "Kendall? Kendall wake up!" She began to cry. "Come on, big brother, open your eyes! What's the matter with you?"

Katie sobbed as she tried harder to wake Kendall. But she couldn't. She stumbled back away from him, wondering what the hell she was supposed to do. Then she saw his phone on the dresser and grabbed it, quickly scrolling through the contacts until she found their mom's phone number. She put the phone up to her ear and waited anxiously. "Come on Mom, answer your stupid phone!"

It rang four times before she heard the voice on the other end. "Kendall?"

"No, it's Katie!"

"Katie? Honey, are you crying? What's wrong?"

"It's K-Kendall!" she sobbed, shaking as her eyes fell on her lifeless brother again. "He's lying down, and he w-won't wake up and he's really white, I d-don't think he's breathing!"

"Oh my God . . ." Katie heard a choked sob on the other end, before, "Just stay with him, ok honey? I'll be there soon, I'm calling 911. It'll be ok."

She hung up, and Katie tossed the phone away. She turned to look back at Kendall, who still hadn't moved. "K-Kendall . . ." she whimpered. "I know you can't hear me but, p-please be ok."

Only a few minutes later, Katie heard sirens, before the sound of the front door opening and their mom calling her. "Upstairs!" she called a little hoarsely, still crying over Kendall's still form. Why was he like this?

But what she really wanted to know was why he'd been crying so much.

Jennifer Knight burst into the room, followed by two paramedics carrying a stretcher. They immediately rushed towards Kendall, lifting him up from the bed and carrying him from the room. Mrs Knight was sobbing, hand over her mouth. "W-what happened?" she asked Katie, who ran into her open arms.

"I don't know, I j-just found him there, like that."

"It's ok, Katie, we're gonna get in the car and follow him to the hospital, alright? He'll be fine, just fine. Come on."

Driving to the hospital was difficult for Jennifer when she was so overcome with panic. What on earth had happened to Kendall? Had he eaten something bad, did he hit his head? What the heck caused him to be that way?

They quickly arrived at the hospital and were directed from the front desk to where Kendall was. Walking into the room, Jennifer froze at the sight of Kendall lying flat on the bed, face even paler than before as nurses and a doctor bustled around him, glancing up and seeing her there before acting as though she didn't exist.

"Ok, secure the mask," the doctor was saying, checking some sort of beeping machine next to the bed as a nurse stuck an oxygen mask over Kendall's nose and mouth.

Suddenly the machine started beeping faster and louder, causing Jennifer, to fly into a panic. "What is it, what's happening?"

One of the doctors cursed as Kendall's body began to convulse violently, twitching as a nurse held the oxygen mask firmly over his nose and mouth while another moved to hold him down.

"Mrs Knight, you'll have to stand in the hallway with your daughter," the doctor said firmly, guiding her away to stand by the door, away from Kendall's bed. She only sobbed as she watched the nurses try to help her son before she was out in the hall, and the door closed behind her.

"Mommy?"

Jennifer turned and looked at Katie, who was sitting in a chair by the wall, looking upset and scared.

"It's ok, Katie," she said, forcing a smile as she sat down next to her, the two automatically holding onto each other for comfort. "The nurses are helping him now, he's just . . . he's sick right now, and they have to make him better."

Katie nodded, sniffling as she rested her head on her mother's shoulder. "Mom . . . he was crying. Why was he crying?"

"I don't know, sweetheart," she replied slowly, shaking her head. "I have no idea."

"It must've hurt a lot, if it made him cry," Katie said sadly. "He never cries, ever."

Jennifer nodded sadly. "I know, honey. But all we can do is wait right now."

So they did. A full forty minutes passed before the male doctor from before opened the door of the ward and walked out, clipboard in hand and looking grim. Jennifer leaped up and walked towards him immediately. "What happened?" she asked nervously.

"We've managed to revive your son," the doctor said solemnly. "He recovered from the seizure relatively well, but we had to pump his stomach so he's still unconscious at the moment. However, he's breathing by himself now, and we think he should wake up pretty soon."

"That's wonderful," Jennifer began gratefully, but he was already going on.

"We also found the reason for his condition. It was an overdose that caused this."

"An . . .? That's impossible," Jennifer replied, stricken. "Kendall doesn't take drugs, he wouldn't."

"Not that type of overdose, Mrs Knight. Sleeping medication. What we have here is all pointing towards an attempted suicide. A failed attempt with no lasting damage, thankfully."

Jennifer nodded, though she was still crying, unable to believe that her little baby had tried to kill himself. Why would he do such a thing, it was so awful . . .

"Dr Wilson?" A nurse emerged from Kendall's ward. "He's waking up."

"Ok, tell him we'll be right in." Dr Wilson turned to Jennifer. "You can see him now."

Jennifer nodded, and quickly grabbed Katie by the hand, following the doctor into the ward. "If you like, I'll wait outside and give you a few minutes alone before I come back to monitor him."

Jennifer nodded gratefully, and they were left alone. She stepped over towards the bed, where Kendall was lying down, crisp white sheets up just past his waist, IV in his arm, with just a little colour back in his face. "Hi, Mom," he greeted tiredly, green eyes blinking up at her. "Hi , Katie."

"Hi, honey," Jen said with a small smile. She chose to get straight to the point. "The doctor told me how this happened. How you . . . how you got this way, how this happened."

Kendall sighed, looking so miserable it broke her heart. "Oh."

This was what made her lose it. "Why did you do it, Kendall?" she wailed, shaking with the effort of holding the tears in.

"Because I wanted to die, Mom," Kendall whispered, hands clenching the white sheets. "I wanted it to end."

"You wanted what to end?"

"Just . . . everything. Pain."

"Oh, Kendall." Jennifer sat next to him, prying his left hand from the mattress and taking it in her own. "Is this about your dad? Or, about when you were little?"

"It's both," Kendall replied quietly. "Like I said, it's everything. It's been building up for years, I guess. This was bound to happen sometime."

"Do you really think that?"

"Yeah, I do," he mumbled, shutting his eyes and snuggling down into the pillows. "Mom, I'm really tired . . ."

"Yes, of course. Go to sleep for a little while, and we'll talk later."

Kendall drifted off into a deep slumber as his mother watched him, tears in her eyes. She turned to look at Katie, who seemed shocked. "Why is he so unhappy?" she asked. "He wasn't like this before."

"I think . . . I think he was, honey," she forced out. "We just didn't notice. I didn't notice, when I should have. I'm sure I'll be regretting that for quite some time."

Kendall left the hospital the next morning, staying at home snuggled up in bed for the rest of the week, thinking about everything. Contemplating what he had done. Maybe it had been a mistake, falling over the edge like that. He'd seen the way his mother and his sister acted now. They didn't want him to die, they wanted him there with them. And when he thought about for a while, he realised that maybe he didn't want him to die either.

Rumours spread in school. Somehow it had been let slip that Kendall Knight overdosed and tried to kill himself the day he broke up with Jett Stetson. He received questioning and wary glances everywhere when he went back to school, all eyes on him as he walked down the hallways. Only a week or two later, Jett had a new virgin to date, and barely gave Kendall a second glance. He didn't really care much anymore.

It beat dying, any day.

**PRESENT:**

"Hey, Kendall!"

Kendall turned around from putting away his clean laundry to look at Matt. "Yeah?"

"We've got a new hooker," he said with a grin. "His name's Logan, he'll be rooming with us."

"Oh? Cool. Is he here now?"

"He's coming tonight. You're not working tonight, are you?"

"Nope, I'm tomorrow."

"Great, you can let him in, then. Sean said he's gonna be at some gambling party or something dumb like that, so you'll be here on your own. Derek's going to visit a friend of his."

"Ok, that's fine. I wouldn't mind some quiet for a bit anyway."

So when everyone else left the house, Kendall stretched out on the couch in his baggiest sweatpants and hooded sweater, reading and sipping green tea happily. He loved some alone time. When Sean wasn't around he didn't have to look good, when the others weren't around he didn't have to talk to anybody. He liked the peace and quiet he had until he heard a knock on the door. He saved the page in his book, left his cup on the coffee table and stood up, walking to the door and opening it. The young man there was a little shorter than Kendall, with pale skin, spiked dark brown hair and brown eyes. He gave Kendall a small, shy wave with the hand that wasn't holding his suitcase. "Um, hi."

"Hi. You must be Logan," Kendall greeted with a warm smile.

"Um, yeah I am," Logan replied slowly, smiling back a little shyly. "Are you the pimp?"

"Me?" Kendall couldn't help laughing as he stepped to the side, giving Logan room to come in. "Nope, I'm just another whore. Come on in."

Kendall gave the cab driver about to take off a little wave, the man returning it with a wink before driving off down the street. Then he shut the door after him, turning to see Logan standing in the hall and looking slightly uncomfortable. "Your accent," Kendall began lightly, trying to make conversation. "Where are you from?"

Logan looked at him, a little startled. "Texas. I moved here when I was ten." He gave a small chuckle. "I'm surprised you picked anything up, most people don't hear it anymore."

"Well, I barely noticed it." Kendall walked past him. "Come on, I'll show you around."

Kendall showed Logan where the living room, kitchen and bathroom were, along with the other residents' bedrooms. Once he'd showed the new guy everything, they returned to their room so Logan could unpack. "I'm not even sure myself how you should take this, but you don't look like a whore," Logan said with a smile. "Like, if a whore was gonna answer the door I'd have pictured you like, wearing hot pants and high heels or something."

Kendall laughed. "I'm not working tonight, so no hot pants. And I don't wear heels, none of us do. I mean, if you want to it's a fashion decision or whatever—"

"Nah, I'm good," Logan cut in with a chuckle.

"So, why are you here?" Kendall asked. Yes, it seemed abrupt. But he as curious nonetheless.

"Oh. Um . . ." Logan looked slightly embarrassed. "I need money for med school. My family can't afford the fee, so I thought . . this could work."

"Oh." Kendall hadn't expected this at all. "Is your family . . . do they know?"

"Well my dad does. I was afraid to tell my mom because I know she'd flip out. My dad isn't happy either, but after I convinced him I'd always use protection and that I was smart enough to avoid any situation I couldn't handle, he finally agreed. But, I would've done it anyway. It was just nice to get his sort-of approval."

"I get that," Kendall replied with a smile. "Although, I haven't seen my mom in a while so she doesn't even know I'm here. My situation was a little different to yours."

Logan chuckled, and there was silence for a second. "So. The pimp, what's he like?" Logan asked.

"Oh." Kendall found himself blushing slightly. "He, he's really great. Sweet, charming . . . and shit, these aren't the traits you're looking for, are you?"

"No, they are not," Logan replied with a chuckle. "Though, I think I sense something here. You're crushing on him?"

"Um, well. Yeah, but . . . he's my boyfriend, sort of. Yeah."

"Oh. He is?" Logan raised his eyebrows. "And you work for him?"

"Uh huh," Kendall replied slowly.

If Logan had bangs, his eyebrows would've disappeared from view by now. "So, you're working for him, and I take it you're sleeping with him too. What's up with that?"

"Um . . ." Kendall stopped, the disapproving tone in Logan's voice pissing him off. "Look, newbie. You don't know me, and you can't just walk in here and act like you're above the rest of us. They'll eat you alive, and I can tell you that if you keep going with that I won't try to stop them!"

Logan's eyes widened at this outburst, and Kendall immediately felt guilty. He bit his lip awkwardly, "Logan, I'm sorry—"

"No, I'm sorry," Logan cut in, actually looking extremely guilty. "You're right, I don't know you, and I've got no right to judge you. I mean, there could be any kind of situation going on that I'm not aware of, so I shouldn't jump to conclusions, right?"

"Right," Kendall replied, smiling again slowly. "It's fine. Really."

Kendall and Logan got along from there, and the next night they went working together, and the brunette did surprisingly well. And they spent the day after with the rest of the guys, enjoying each other's company and quickly becoming good friends.

Kendall walked out into the hallway in the evening to get a drink from the kitchen when a voice above him caught his attention.

"Hey, Kendall," Sean called from the top of the stairs. "I'm going to Lance's club tomorrow night, I need someone to go with me. Can you get that new kid to tag along too?"

"His name is Logan," Kendall corrected with a roll of his eyes. "And sure, I'll tell him."

Going to a club basically meant walking around the place and looking for drunk and/or horny potential customers. Kendall explained all this to Logan, and the next night they drove with Sean into the club, saying goodbye to him inside the front doors, after Sean murmured in Kendall's ear that he'd see him later.

"Is this a regular thing for you?" Logan asked, raising his voice so Kendall could hear him over the loud music.

"Sort of," Kendall replied equally as loud. "Though I'm on my own sometimes. This isn't as difficult as you might think, and you will have fun. Trust me, I always do."

"Um, alright," Logan said uncertainly, looking around. "So, will I go this way and you go that way?"

"Got it. Oh, and don't take food or drink from anybody, buy your own."

"Thanks."

Kendall strode off, looking around at all the dancing club attendants, his body brushing off most of them in the tight space. He stopped in the middle of the dance floor, looking around and trying to spot a likely target. So far, he didn't see anyone he could just go for straight out. Some of them had to come to him first, annoyingly.

Then Kendall suddenly felt two hands move to grip his waist, and looked over his shoulder to see a man dressed all in baggy black clothes grinding up against him. He smirked, glancing down at the hands gripping his waist to see a large silver W on each hand. "What does that stand for?" he asked, trailing a finger over one of the sparkling letters.

"Wayne Wayne," the man replied with a cocky smirk. "From the mean streets of Detroit."

"You a rapper or something? Well, I'm gonna call you Wayne, only once."

"I can live with that." A pause, Wayne grinding his crotch up against Kendall's ass a little harder. "Anyway. I know who you are, so why don't we just get to the good stuff?"

"And what do you think I am?" Kendall asked innocently, pushing his ass back against Wayne just a little bit.

Wayne chuckled. "I know, that you're a whore. Looking for work in this club, probably for a domineering pimp, am I right?"

"More or less. What are you gonna do about it?"

"Well, I have what you would call a business offer. What would you say, to two thousand dollars, for a week of sex?" Wayne suggested with another smirk. "A session every night, we can arrange a place to meet over text if that's convenient."

Kendall laughed. "I'm not giving my phone number to anybody. What we will do is arrange a new meeting place at the end of every session, kay?" He turned around to face Wayne, holding out his hand. "I take payment in advance."

Wayne rolled his eyes, taking it his wallet and opening it, pulling out a few paper bills until he had the three hundred dollars and handed it over. "You'll get it all bu the end of the week, I'm must not a naive little idiot. And hey, maybe if you're good I'll throw in another hundred for you to hide from your pimp. Buy yourself a nice new brand of lube or whatever it is hookers like to buy."

Kendall smiled, putting the money in his pocket. "Ok. Thank you. When do you wanna start?"

"Hmm, now?"

"Works for me."

"So . . . bathroom?"

"Your call. Lead the way, Wayne."

So he did. Into the bathroom and the nearest cubicle they went, locking the door behind them. They shared one long, lingering kiss before Kendall pushed Wayne against the cubicle wall with one hand, using the other to close the toilet seat and toss his bag on top of it. He didn't hesitate before unbuttoning Wayne's pants and pulling them and his underwear down to to his ankles and stroking his hardening dick.

"Can you be my bad boy?" Kendall growled, earning a moan and a nod from Wayne. "I need a bad _man_."

"Oh, fuck," Wayne gasped, head slamming back against the wall of the bathroom cubicle as Kendall stroked him faster. Wayne grabbed Kendall by the neck and pulled him in for a bruising kiss, their tongues clashing as Kendall moved his hand away from Wayne's dick.

Then Kendall glanced down to see Wayne unbuttoning his tight jeans and yanking them down, before pulling back from his lips and murmuring, "You got lube?"

"Always." Kendall got it out and held it out.

But Wayne didn't take it. "Why don't you stretch yourself? I'd like to see that."

Kendall grinned, opening the lube and squirting some out onto his fingers. "I can do that." Leaning slightly against Wayne with one hand on his shoulder, Kendall moved the hand with the lubricated fingers down towards his hole, circling it once before pushing one inside, moaning against Wayne as the other man kissed him again. Pushing a second finger inside, he scissored them a little, and pulled back a little to see Wayne staring down at his fingers. In response to this, Kendall pulled them out altogether.

"I know you wanna stretch me a little yourself," Kendall said with a smirk, reaching down to grasp his bag and dig around inside. Wayne watched his movements hungrily, licking his lips.

"You wanna use this?" Kendall asked with a smirk, holding the retrieved dildo up and waving it in front of Wayne's face.

"Fuck, yes," Wayne snarled, taking it in one hand, before using his other to turn Kendall around and shove him against the cubicle wall. Kendall moaned , forehead pressed into the cold wall as he felt the plastic sex toy pushing in past the tight muscle. Wayne pushed it right in until it wouldn't go any further, before pulling it out and thrusting it back in.

"Nngh, God," Kendall gasped, throwing his head back as Wayne thrust it in and out a couple more times, stretching him roughly. Then Wayne was pulling it out, and Kendall quickly turned around and reached for the bag again, finding a condom and quickly sliding onto Wayne's hard, dripping cock. "I'm here to serve you. How do you want this to go?"

Wayne grinned at him, before backing up a little, picking up Kendall's bag and putting it on the floor before sitting down, beckoning Kendall over to him. He gabbed the lube and coated his condom clothed dick with it, and when Kendall walked over, Wayne took hold of him by the hips and turned him around so he was facing away from him. Then he tugged him down into his lap, Kendall's hole automatically tightening as his cock entered him all the way.

Kendall was never enthusiastic about sex in a bathroom; it was dirty, and gross. But fuck, this was so good. Wayne was fucking amazing, always seeming to know the right angles to thrust up into him and make him weak with pleasure. He moved his hands up to press against the walls on either side of the cubicle to steady himself, moving to ride Wayne and bounce up and down to meet his thrusts, groaning in pleasure as his sweet spot was slammed into.

Wayne grunted with each hard, rough thrust, gripping Kendall's hips so hard it almost hurt. But it felt amazing, being held so tightly and fucked so _good_ . . .

Kendall felt himself getting closer, and slowly moved his hands to his waist to lift his shirt, hoping to spare it from the possible future came stains. Wayne slid his hands up Kendall's now bare sides, and as his nails sank into Kendall's skin the same time as he felt one jarring hard thrust, Kendall lost it, his seed spilling out and thankfully not getting on his shirt. Then Kendall felt warm heat inside of him and knew Wayne had come too. He sat there for another second to get his breath back, before he slowly got up off Wayne's dick, standing up straight and working to clean himself off.

He pulled his pants back up and turned around to see Wayne doing the same. "What about tomorrow?" he asked him.

"Um, well, there's a bar and own the street, on the corner. Maybe there, at ten?" Wayne suggested as they both left the cubicle and walked out of the bathroom.

"I'll be there. Don't forget your wallet."

"Wouldn't dream of it, only millionaires can afford that, no pun intended."

"Wow, you're actually kind of funny," Kendall chuckled. "Who'd have thought it?" He turned away to walk over to Logan. "I'll see you tomorrow night."

Logan, as it turned out, had made some money too, and they go spent the rest of the night sitting at the bar, not drinking but talking about anything and everything until Sean appeared, took their money and informed them that they were going home.

Kendall thought Sean was acting different as they drove home. He was quiet, he seemed upset about something. Kendall wanted to ask him, but thought he probably wouldn't tell him with Logan sitting in the back seat.

When they got home, Sean took hold of Kendall's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Come talk to me in the loving room in a second, ok babe?"

Kendall nodded, wondering what Sean wanted. He guess it must have something to do with his strange attitude. So when Logan had left him alone in the hallway he walked into the living room where Sean was standing and waiting. "Hey. Something wrong?"

"I saw you, earlier."

The bluntness caught Kendall by surprise. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Don't act like you don't know. With that guy, Wayde or something."

"Wayne," Kendall corrected automatically, and saw straight away that this was a mistake.

"What were you doing with him?" Sean demanded, eyes dark and cold.

"Nothing," Kendall replied uncertainly. "He was just a customer, that's all—"

"And that gives you an excuse to throw yourself at him like a dumb whore? I don't fucking think so!"

"Sean . . ." Kendall didn't understand any of this. Why was Sean so angry with him? "I didn't throw myself at anybody! I don't even like that guy—"

"You're lying, you stupid skank!" A fist flew out and rammed into Kendall's cheek, catching him off guard and making him stumble backwards against the wall.

"S-Sean," Kendall stuttered out, hand on his stinging cheek. He punched me . . . "I swear—"

"Shut up, you bitch!" Sean snarled, slapping Kendall across the face before shoving him onto the floor. Kendall's head smashed off the coffee table and he lay there, dazed. Then he felt Sean's foot collide with his stomach, knocking the breath out of him. He whimpered in pain when Sean kicked him again, rolling onto his side and curling up in defence. This only seemed to make Sean angrier, the stream of hurtful words flying from is mouth at a faster pace.

"You slut! Bitch! Do you think I'm fucking stupid, you cheap little skank! You can't fool me!"

Kendall started to cry, hands over his ears as he curled up tighter in a ball. The names hurt more than the punches. But what hurt the most was that it was Sean saying it. Sweet, charming Sean who'd always been so nice to him. Why was he doing this?

"Get up, you stupid whore!" Sean yelled, kicking him again. "Get up!"

Kendall struggled to his feet, finds it difficult because of the pain he felt literally everywhere. He was startled when Sean grabbed him by the arm and pulled him from the room and up the stairs. He realised where they were going once they were almost in the upstairs hallway. "Sean—"

"Shut up."

Into Sean's room and Kendall was shoved onto the bed, his neck immediately receiving an attack of bites and scrapes of teeth, angry obscenities still thrown in his ear, striking at his heart more and more. "Fucking stupid whore . . . God, if only you weren't so fucking sexy."

Kendall trembled in what could only be described as fear when he saw how hard Sean was. Adding that to how angry he was didn't seem like a good combination. But Kendall couldn't do anything about it as Sean started yanking his clothes off, knowing that telling him to stop would probably result in more bruises. Even though when Sean started stripping of his own clothes, he found himself shaking a little more. He already knew that even though he was already a little stretched from earlier, this was going to hurt.

Then Kendall was pulled so Sean was lying on the bed and he was on top of him, right before he felt two dry fingers slam into his ass. Kendall yelped at the feeling, unable to stop himself from gripping Sean's broad shoulders, just to have something to cling onto. The fingers slammed against his prostate, making him shudder weakly before they disappeared completely, leaving him empty and stinging.

"You're gonna ride me like the dumb slut you are, and you're gonna fucking like it," Sean growled, gripping Kendall's hips so tightly it hurt as he pulled him towards his leaking erection. Kendall whimpered a little in fear as Sean lifted him up above it, knowing trying to struggle would do no good. The older man was a lot stronger than he was.

Kendall screamed as Sean tugged Kendall down onto his throbbing dick, tears burning in his eyes as he tried to hold them in. Sean was gripping his hips even tighter now. And immediately he started using this grip to move Kendall up and down on his dick, before snarling in his ear, "Ride me, you slut."

And because Kendall was afraid of what would happen if he didn't, he started rocking his hips slowly, trying to make it as comfortable as possible for him until the burning pain in his ass finally started to ease. Then he moved a little faster, Sean pulling him along with the tight hold he had on his hips. Every time Sean's dick struck his prostate a wave of pleasure flooded through his body. But other than that it was only pain. Emotional as much as physical, if not more.

Sean grunted in pleasure as Kendall rode him a little harder, in hopes it would bring this painful sex to an end. "You're such a slut," he moaned as he started to display those signs of getting closer to his orgasm. "Such a stupid, stupid skank . . . fuuccckk."

He came hard, filling Kendall up, and only leaving the blonde lying there for a second before lifting him up off his dick and laying him on the bed, not saying a word to him. Kendall lay there, panting slightly. That hurt so much. But . . . Sean was upset. He shouldn't have upset him, Sean hadn't done anything to him, and he'd hurt him. Sean was the victim here, not Kendall. What the hell was the matter with him?

Kendall rolled onto his side, biting his lip unhappily. "Sean?"

The man ignored him for a moment, causing tears to well up in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Sean," Kendall whimpered out, pleading forgiveness. "I didn't realise what I was doing, I didn't mean to. I'm not interested in Wayne, I swear. I'm so sorry."

Sean stared at him for a second. Then he gave a small smile, opening his arms for Kendall. Kendall latched onto him, head buried in his chest as a few tears slid down his cheeks. "It's ok, baby," Sean murmured, holding Kendall tightly. "I forgive you. I know you didn't mean it, babe."

"Thank you," Kendall replied softly, smiling up at Sean, who kissed him slowly, tongue immediately wandering in past his lips. Kendall eagerly accepted, just delighted that Sean had forgiven him. He clung onto the older man as he pulled the covers over them. He found himself so drained, and for some reason with a slight headache, and within a minute or two he was asleep . . .

Kendall woke up the next morning in Sean's arms. He was sweaty and had dried cum still painted over his chest, so he decided he should probably get up and take a shower. He rolled away from Sean, and as he got out of bed he winced at the burning pain that shot up his spine.

He limped to where his clothes lay, picking up his boxers and putting them on, not wanting to wander around the house in his birthday suit. He picked up his other clothes and took them downstairs, leaving them by his bed. Logan, Matt and Eric were still asleep, so he was silent as he left the room again and shut the door after him.

He went and took a long shower, carefully washing himself where he still hurt from the beatings. Dark bruises cluttered his ribs, making him grimace a little in disgust. He looked awful. Disgusting. He shuddered at his horrendous appearance and turned the hot shower off, climbing out and driving himself off. As he glanced in the mirror to fix his hair, he noticed the massive, ugly black eye he had. He winced, touching it lightly with the tips of his fingers. It hurt, a lot. It hurt even when he blinked.

He wrapped a towel around his waist and went back into his room. He was startled to see that Logan was awake. The brunette looked up and saw him, not noticing at first. "Hey Ken—WHAT THE FUCK?"

His yell caused both Matt and Eric to jolt awake, Eric half jumping and half falling out of the bed with a yelp. "What's wrong, Logan?"

Kendall stared at the floor when the three pairs of eyes fell on him, gasps from Matt and Eric filling the silence. "Kendall . . . what happened?" Matt asked. He stepped a little closer to Kendall. Then his eyes widened and he looked absolutely horrified. "I heard Sean yelling at you last night. Did he do that to you?"

"Um . . ." The looks they were giving him really made him want to say no. But he didn't. "Yeah, he did. He was just angry, about Wayne . . . it's not a big deal."

The looks from the other three guys were telling him that they thought it was a huge deal. "So, he hit you?" Logan demanded, looking shocked.

Kendall nodded slowly. "Like I said guys, it doesn't matter. It's a one time thing. I shouldn't have flirted with Wayne, I can't . . . I don't blame him for getting mad."

This last fumbling excuse received different reactions from all three of them. Logan just stared at him, silently screaming that he knew damn well he hadn't flirted with Wayne, or barely interacted with him that whole party. Matt just looked angry; angry at Kendall for making up stupid excuses to make up for what Sean did, and angry with Sean for doing what he did. Eric had a look of sympathy, and something else Kendall couldn't quite place.

"Kendall?" The bedroom door opened and Sean was standing there, wearing a pair of jeans, his muscular chest bare. "Babe, I woke up and you were gone." There it as again. That sweet tone, but a slightly threatening vibe behind it that Kendall couldn't really ignore.

"Sorry. I wanted to shower, I was gross." He took one last glance at his worried looking roommates before turning around and following Sean out of the room and into the hallway. Sean barely had the door shut before he was sticking a hand under Kendall's towel and yanking it off. Kendall blushed, feeling very exposed out in this hallway but deciding it would be best not to mention it as Sean's hands wandered all over him.

"Shit. Babe, I'm sorry." Sean spotted Kendall's black eye, his fingers lightly touching the bruised skin. "I shouldn't have done that, I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Kendall replied quickly. "It doesn't hurt that much." A lie, but an easy way out.

Sean grinned down at him, before bending down and scooping him up bridal style, leaving the discarded towel on the floor by the wall. "I dunno about you, but I'd love some make up sex right now," he growled, nipping on Kendall's neck as he carried him up the stairs.

"I can live with that," Kendall replied breezily, giggling as he was dropped onto Sean's bed, the brunette shutting the door before stalking towards him with hungry eyes.

If Kendall had known that the previous night would be the first of many, he probably wouldn't have gone along with it. Still, maybe there wouldn't have been any point in trying.

**TWO YEAR TIME SKIP:**

"Bitch!"

A kick to the stomach.

"Slut!"

A slap to the face.

Kendall only whimpered quietly in answer to the blows, waiting for it to be over. Sorry for existing, he wanted to yell at his pimp, though he knew it would probably result in more blows worst than the last. It didn't matter anymore. Anything he did, even something completely stupid could piss Sean off, and the abuse would come. He was punched, kicked, and often tugged into Sean's room for some rough, and thanks to the new bruises, often painful sex.

Sean glared down at him, spitting in his general direction. "Do you seriously enjoy making me miserable, Kendall? Is it fun for you to upset me?"

Kendall shook his head. "I'm sorry, Sean, I didn't mean it."

"Whatever," Sean snapped, staring down at him in what could only be described as utter contempt. "Go get dressed, you're leaving in twenty minutes."

Kendall nodded and got to his feet, hurrying away from Sean and into his room. Logan and Matt were both there getting changed too, both of them throwing him sympathetic glances. He just shrugged like he was used to it. Because he was. He reached into a drawer and took out his skin tight black jeans and a dark blue shirt.

As Logan was pulling on his own shirt, Kendall spotted the lack rose tattoo on his forearm. He'd got that three days after joining them, and now teo years later, thansk to bad wages and one or two family issues only he could pay for, he was still trying to earn for med school. Kendall's hand found his own tattoo, running his fingers over the inked skin of his collar bone with a sigh. He'd got this tattoo a month after he started working for Sean, before Logan even joined with them and received his own. It was something that only in the last year had started to disgust him. It was like a symbol, of ownership. To show other pimps on the lookout that they were taken, the same way farmers would brand their livestock as pieces of property. Motherfucking property.

He'd lost a lot of self respect recently.

He buttoned up his shirt, before picking up his bag. "Come on, let's get going."

The three left the house and walked to one of the cars, getting in and taking off towards the Crystal Hotel, one of their best spots. It was popular for them, because they always tended to find the best customers there. The ones who weren't aggressive or rough with them, and the ones who paid well. Though there was the occasional exception. Like that time when Kendall was walking down the hallway after sex with some mannerly businessman, when this drunk asshole stumbled down the hallway and threw three hundred bucks in Kendall's face before dragging him into his hotel room, just like that. Not a pleasant night.

They parked the car in the lot at the back and made their at to the front doors, towards the lobby. "Ok, so we meet in the lobby in two hours?" Logan suggested. "We should have enough by then, at least between us. I'm not staying here any longer, anyways."

Kendall nodded in agreement, looking around at the men outside the door. He caught the eye of one and winked at him, earning a smirk and a hand beckoning him over. "I've already got my first customer. See you guys later."

An hour later and Kendall hadn't done as much as he normally would. He just sucked off the dude he winked at and did a little stripping for another two. Some weird couple fetish of theirs.

He was in the bathroom, washing a cum stain off the end of his shirt and grumbling a little under his breath when a redhead man about his height walked in, shifting a little nervously on both feet. "Um . . . hi."

"Hey," Kendall greeted, barely glancing at him for a second or two as he held the end of his shirt over the automatic dryer. "S'up?"

"Uh, w-well. I saw you outside, earlier. You're a hooker, right?"

"Uh huh," Kendall replied, moving away from the dryer so it switched off and the dryer fell silent. "What are you looking for? A handjob? Or do you want me to blow you?"

"Um, a blow, I-I think. Yeah, that."

Kendall wanted to laugh at the man's awkward approach to this. "Ok. A hundred bucks alright?" After being handed his money and slipping it into his pocket, he walked over and took hold of the man's arm, pushing him towards one of the cubicles. "Go on, then."

The man walked inside, Kendall shutting the door and locking with a click after them. Their eyes locked for a second, as Kendall's hand moved down to slowly press against the man's crotch. He gasped in reaction, eyes drifting shut in pleasure as Kendall pushed against it harder, changing the pressure of his fingers before squeezing gently. "Mmm," the customer choked out, a blush tinting his cheeks immediately when the noise escaped his lips.

Smirking, Kendall dropped to his knees, unbuttoning the man's jeans and tugging them down, along with his underwear. "How do you wanna do this?"

"Huh? Oh." The guy looked slightly nervous, pulling at his shirt collar. "Um, well, you don't have to swallow it, if you don't want to. I know it, um, it tastes kind of gross . . ."

Kendall chuckled fondly at his shyness. "Mind if I use a condom, then?"

"N-no, that's fine," the man replied, blushing slightly.

Kendall smiled, giving him a little wink before reaching down into his bag, sticking his hand in the box of condoms and taking one out, before rolling it onto the guy's erection. "I can tell, you're not used to this," he said softly, glancing reassuringly up at the client. "It's cool."

Then he moved forward and took the man's cock in his mouth, tongue wandering all over the thin latex barrier covering the heated skin. The client above him moaned loudly, his embarrassment forgotten as he arched his back against the door. "Oh God, that—ohhh . . ."

Kendall smiled with slight difficulty, bringing the cock in deeper until it brushed off the back of his throat, sucking it a little harder as his hands moved up to the man's hips to keep him from thrusting forward. He moved his tongue around the underside as one of his hands moved to roll the man's balls lightly in his fingers. When he started this the man groaned louder and his hands gripped Kendall's hair tightly, not enough to hurt but enough to know his hair would be messed up afterwards.

He kept sucking and licking, occasionally nipping lightly at the client's dick, humming around it as the man gasped and groaned, a ton of obscenities spilling from his lips as the pleasure heightened for him. Kendall was glad he was so good at fighting his gag reflex now.

Then, the man gave a high-pitched moan and came, Kendall feeling it on the inside of the condom and pulling off with a satisfied smile. While the client was still panting, coming down from his high, Kendall tugged the dripping condom off and wiped the man off with some tissues, before throwing it all away in the trashcan and pulling his pants up, re-buttoning them. He looked to to the the man smiling a little shyly at him, before reaching a hand down and taking hold of his arm, helping him up onto his feet.

Kendall smiled at him, before opening the cubicle door and picking up his bag, walking out. He sighed a little mournfully when he saw the blonde bush that used to be his hair, reaching into his bag and taking out his comb. "Sorry," the man said slightly awkwardly. "I guess that . . . that's a little awkward for you."

"It's ok," Kendall replied with a breezy smile, looking at the man standing next to him.

Then he was caught by surprise as the man leaned forward and captured Kendall's lips in a slow kiss. Kendall returned it lightly, before the guy pulled back and he was blushing again. "Um, s-sorry, again. Are you gonna charge me for that?"

Kendall chuckled. "No, I'm not. It's no big deal." He turned to the mirror and brushed through his hair with his fingers to fluff his bangs a little, the man still watching him.

"What's it like, being a hooker?" the guy asked curiously, standing next to him.

Kendall sighed, straightening up and shutting his bag. "I don't enjoy talking about it much, honestly. It's just, giving people sex and them giving you money. That's all it is."

"You don't sound like you enjoy it."

"Maybe I don't," Kendall replied with a shrug, turning to look him in the eye. "But some of us don't have much choice." He gave the guy a sweet smile, leaning up and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, before walking past him towards the bathroom door. "See you around."

He walked out and into the busy lobby, spotting Logan on the other end, by the elevator. He walked over, waving and pointing towards the door. The brunette nodded when Kendall caught his attention and walked in the same direction. Naturally, the third hooker that went with them wasn't there yet.

Kendall walked out of the Crystal hotel, Logan in tow. "Guess we'll just have to wait for Matt to meet us here."

Logan nodded, sighing. "If he shows up. You know how late he gets."

Kendall's frown disappeared and he burst into laughter. "Yeah, when he's sucking someone off under a poker table."

Logan laughed too, throwing his head back and chuckling. "Very true, and yet true for all of us."

Then, during the moment's pause, a tall handsome man with chocolate brown hair, olive skin and hazel eyes walked up to them. "Hey," he greeted almost shyly. "I was wondering if—"

"Well, aren't you a pretty boy?" Logan smirked. Kendall had to roll his eyes; what Logan said certainly was true, but he didn't want to be dealing with this right now. "You wanna play with us? I hope you got cash on you cos—"

"Actually, we're done for the night," Kendall cut in. He didn't want to sleep with this guy, no matter how handsome he was. "You're gonna have to ask somebody else."

"Actually, I just wanted to know where the nearest bus station is," the man said, smiling at him.

Wow. He didn't want sex? That was a first. Kendall couldn't resist smiling back and decided to assist him. "Just keep walking down that way until you come to the next left turn. It's right around the corner; you can't miss it."

"Ok. Thanks." The man smiled one more time, before he turned and walked away in the direction Kendall had sent him. Kendall watched him go, wondering who he was for reasons he didn't understand.

"Hey, Kendall?"

"Huh?" Oh." Kendall blushed red, though only had from embarrassment. "Right." He took a breath to compose himself and turned to look at Logan. "How much did you get?"

Strange, wasn't it? How he wanted directions instead of sex. Maybe there was something behind it.

Not that it mattered, did it?

Nope, Kendall decided. Totally insignificant.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it :P songs:
> 
> 1\. Skyscraper - Demi Lovato  
> 2\. Breakeven - The Script  
> 3\. You'll Be in My Heart - Phil Collins  
> 4\. Fearless - Taylor Swift  
> 5\. What About Now - Daughtry


End file.
